


Sonic and the Master of Chaos 3 | New Super Luigi Fan Fiction

by KaptainKovee, SquirreLJ



Series: Sonic and the Master of Chaos [3]
Category: Sonic the Hedgehog - All Media Types, Super Mario & Related Fandoms
Genre: Action/Adventure, Comedy, Crossover, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-16
Updated: 2019-10-21
Packaged: 2020-06-29 08:14:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 43
Words: 61,295
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19826119
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KaptainKovee/pseuds/KaptainKovee, https://archiveofourown.org/users/SquirreLJ/pseuds/SquirreLJ
Summary: When Dr. Eggman's latest scheme goes awry, Sonic and friends wind up in New Donk City, where the Mario Bros. have come for vacation. But they're not alone! Trespassers from seven different dimensions have been pulled into the Metro Kingdom, and some are less friendly than others. How will Sonic and Luigi fare? Find out in this climactic finale to the Sonic and the Master of Chaos trilogy!





	1. Beginning of the End

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Super Mario Bros. Z](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/499057) by Alvin-Earthworm. 
  * Inspired by [Sonic: Nazo Unleashed](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/499060) by Chakra-X. 
  * Inspired by [Stupid Mario Brothers](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/499063) by Rich Alvarez. 



> In loving memory of Shane Williams.

Running, that is what Sonic the Hedgehog does best. He speeds along new horizons at the speed of sound, but he is not driven by cowardice. No, Sonic doesn’t run from danger; he runs toward it as fast as he can. New adventures and challenges satiate his endless wanderlust, but the thrill often leaves as soon as it arrives. Thus, Sonic runs. He chases that thrill for as long as he can.

That is where our adventure begins. Sonic was sprinting across the top of the ocean—carried by only his speed and the surface tension of the water below him. Zig-zagging across the water, he was dodging cannon fire from a nearby oilrig, which had been taken over by his nemesis, Dr. Eggman. Sonic didn’t know why Eggman needed the rig, but it couldn’t be anything good. Tails, Sonic’s best friend, was flying overhead in his biplane, the Tornado, and providing cover fire for Sonic from above. 

A series of three consecutive cannonballs burst from the side of the rig and rocketed toward the blue speedster, but Sonic only smirked. This was his ticket. He jumped into the air and bounced off each cannonball onto the next. The last one was close enough for Sonic to jump from the projectile onto the rig itself. He was greeted by a wave of laser gunfire from the robotic Egg Pawns manning the cannons they’d attached to the rig. Each blast was avoided almost entirely by instinct, and Sonic made quick work of the pawns with a series of Homing Attacks and flying kicks. 

He dashed up the side of the rig's tower, at the top of which Eggman hovered in his flying carrier, the Egg Mobile. Eggman let out a scream in terror as Sonic kicked his Egg Mobile, which spun out of control as a result. Tails took the opportunity to fly by in the Tornado. A small grappling hook extended from the bottom of the plane and latched onto the Egg Mobile as it steadied itself in the air. As soon as it was steady, the Tornado dragged the Egg Mobile down into the rig, with Eggman still inside it. Tails, of course, pulled up at the last second, so that his vehicle did not crash alongside Eggman’s.

Sonic landed next to the crashed Egg Mobile. “Alright, doc! What were you scheming out here this time?” Dr. Eggman did not respond. Sonic wondered if he was unconscious. He approached Eggman cautiously, and to his surprise, his arms and legs were bent weirdly out of shape, and tiny sparks of electricity erupted from his joints at random.

The mad doctor’s eyes turned into mechanical red lights. “Self-destruct initiated.”

“Crap!” Sonic shouted. An explosion on an oilrig of this size would be a disaster!

“Sonic! Leave it to me!” Tails shouted as he sped by in his plane again. The plane’s grappling hook caught the mechanical imposter, and Tails pulled him upward into the sky. The young fox set his biplane’s controls to autopilot, and he jumped overboard, using his twin tails to fly safely down to the rig next to Sonic. After the plane carried the fake Eggman to a safe distance, it exploded into flames. 

“I guess he set us up,” Sonic admitted.

“That must have been an EggBot with fake skin like the one Saturn destroyed,” Tails guessed. “Sorry, Sonic, you’ll have to run us back to shore now. I couldn’t think of a better way to keep the rig from getting caught in the explosion.” 

“Don’t worry about it,” Sonic chuckled. “I didn’t know what to do, so you saved my neck there, buddy!” 

Tails pondered for a moment and touched the area between his chin and chest. “Do we even have necks? I mean, I know Saturn broke Knuckles’, but…”

“What was that?” Sonic asked.

“Nothing,” Tails chuckled.

“Well, whatever the Egghead was planning, we failed—I mean—foiled him!” Sonic announced triumphantly. 

Tails took a gadget from a briefcase he was carrying. “I’ll call Chaotix and let them know. We should really get back to helping Silver.” 

“It’s not like them to help us out for free like this,” Sonic chided.

Tails was now waiting for Vector to pick up his phone. “Well,” he replied, “they seem to have some history with Silver from that incident with Eggman Nega. Maybe they feel like they’re returning a favor.” Vector apparently picked up his phone. “Hello,” Tails started, “yes, it was a fake, but we took the rig back. Can you let G.U.N. know the area is secure? We’ll be back soon. Take care.” Tails hung up. “Our work here is done.”


	2. Shadow's Mission

Fighting, that is what Shadow the Hedgehog does best. Since his creation, he has been fighting foe after foe: whether it was Dr. Eggman or Sonic, G.U.N. or the Black Arms, Saturn or Silver Sonic II. The enemies varied, but the battles were the same. His creator, Professor Gerald Robotnik, designed him in the hopes of curing his granddaughter, Maria, using Shadow’s “ultimate” DNA as a model. For an existence that was designed to heal, all Shadow knew how to do was destroy, so he would continue to destroy everything that stood in his path. His story begins doing just that.

The Guardian Units of Nations (G.U.N. for short) are an international military devoted to worldwide peacekeeping. They serve the President of the United Federation and exist to defend the world from any would-be threats, but their methods have been questioned in the past. Despite some prior grievances, Shadow was cooperating with them now. Rouge the Bat, friend of Shadow and part-time G.U.N. agent, had located an underground laboratory believed to be the current whereabouts of Dr. Eggman. The laboratory was connected to one of the mad scientist’s bunkers by a series of labyrinthine tunnels designed to deter intruders. 

These tunnels were discovered behind a secret door beneath the clock tower in Metropolis, one of the largest cities in the United Federation. They wove under the city around its sewers and must have taken time to construct, even for Dr. Eggman’s army of robotic servants. Shadow was leading a group of G.U.N. agents through the metallic labyrinth on foot. The tunnels were too narrow in some places to reliably bring vehicles, and G.U.N. couldn’t risk collapsing them without harming the infrastructure of the city above, so walking was the only option. 

The team consisted of Shadow, Rouge, their robotic friend E-123 Omega, a G.U.N. agent named Topaz, and more than a dozen highly-trained G.U.N. soldiers. At the start, the group had been accompanied by a squad of Beetles and Hunters—military robots designed by G.U.N.—but most of them were left behind to deal with a swarm of Badniks—Eggman’s own robotic infantry. Only two Hunters remained, each carrying a large shield and laser gun, and they stood protectively over Topaz at all times. 

“As surprised as I am that the Commander agreed to this,” said Topaz, “if we can finally bring in Dr. Eggman, it might be worth it.” 

“We wouldn’t need Eggman if your organization was half as competent as I gave you credit for,” Shadow scoffed. 

“Now, now, Honey,” Rouge teased, “they’re still going through all the trouble of helping us, after all.”

“Affirmative,” Omega added, “they have assisted in the eradication of many Eggman robots.”

“Your buddy has a pretty one-track mind,” Topaz remarked to Rouge while eyeing Omega. 

Rouge glanced toward Shadow and smirked. “You have no idea.”

Shadow ignored them. He had even more annoying things to deal with. The voice of his so-called younger brother, Saturn the Hedgehog, was echoing in his mind. “I simply cannot wait to be out and about again. Ever since our fight with the Silver Overlord, I’ve just been itching to be alive.” 

_ Don’t get ahead of yourself _ , Shadow thought.  _ We’ll be watching Eggman to be sure your new body isn’t as troublesome as your last one _ . 

“The feeling of fresh air in my quills is enough for me,” Saturn cackled. Shadow doubted him, but he didn't have any better ideas to get him out of his head. Their connections to the Chaos Emeralds at the time of Saturn’s death had allowed the maniacal hedgehog to invade Shadow’s mind, and there didn’t seem to be many choices to get rid of him. 

“You’re planning to kill me again after you get me this new body, right?” Saturn inquired. Shadow didn’t respond. There was no need. Saturn could read his thoughts. “I wonder if you’ll still feel that way after I come back. You just might end up needing my help again.” 

“Shut up!” Shadow yelled. Topaz looked a bit concerned, but a stern glance from Rouge kept her quiet. The sly bat had grown accustomed to Shadow’s occasional outbursts. She wanted to help him, not just for G.U.N.’s sake, but for her own. Once Saturn had a body of his own, Shadow would be cured. Keeping Eggman from making Saturn as strong as before would be easy; the mad doctor regretted his initial design, after all. It was G.U.N. she was worried about. She intended to keep her eye on them. The power of infinity should not be taken lightly. 


	3. Amy's Recovery

Caring, that is what Amy Rose does best. She is in love with Sonic the Hedgehog and would chase him to the ends of the Earth. In fact, she does. Just as Sonic chases adventure, she chases him, so she too in a way chases his thrilling lifestyle. Her most recent chase, however, had landed her in the grasp of Silver Sonic II, a powerful robot that had severely injured her before absorbing shards of the Master Emerald and becoming the Silver Overlord. The Silver Overlord had been stopped by Sonic, of course, but Amy remained injured. She was being held in Central City Hospital, one of the best hospitals in the United Federation. 

Amy's best friend, Cream the Rabbit, was visiting alongside Vanilla the Rabbit, Cream's mother; Cheese the Chao; and Big the Cat, a mutual friend of Cream and Amy. "How are you feeling today?" Vanilla asked concernedly.

"I can't really get up and about much," Amy admitted, "but the doctor _did_ say I'm healing faster than expected." 

"That's awesome," Cream encouraged with a smile. 

"I baked you some cookies," Big shared as he offered the wounded hedgehog a tray dotted with blue and pink sugar cookies. The cat smiled warmly at his friend, and his pet frog ribbited cheerfully on his shoulder. 

Amy smiled back at Big and accepted a blue cookie. "Have you heard from Sonic?" she asked as she hesitated to eat it. 

"He's with Mr. Vector," Vanilla explained. "They're working on a way to get Silver back to his own time." 

"Knowing him, he'll probably get swept up in another adventure while doing it," Amy sighed. 

"Amy, you're not well enough to go after him this time," Cream reminded her forlorn friend. "Leave this one to Mr. Vector and the others. You can go after him once you've healed." 

"I know," Amy agreed reluctantly. 

"Eat your cookie," Big reminded her as he nudged the food closer to her face. 

Amy chuckled and playfully shoved his hand away before taking a bite. "Thank you for visiting," she expressed after swallowing. "A girl couldn't ask for better friends." 

"Oh, I almost forgot," Vanilla confessed before reaching into her purse. "I brought something you can use to fight off your boredom while you recover." 

"Really?" Amy asked. "Ms. Rabbit, you didn't have to do that." 

"Nonsense," Vanilla dismissed, "after everything you've done for Cream, it's the least I can do." The motherly rabbit retrieved a book from her purse: _The Legend of King Arthur_. "I think you'll like it," Vanilla insisted after Amy took the book and eyed it with uncertainty. "The hero reminded me of Sonic." 

"Really..." Amy replied as she flipped open the book. Then, she smiled upward at Vanilla and her other guests. "Thank you, I love it." 

Cream, Vanilla, Big, Cheese, and Froggy offered more words and gestures of encouragement before leaving Amy to her new story. According to the doctors, Amy would make a full recovery in another week or two. She knew this adventure wasn't hers to have, but somehow, she felt she would still be connected to whatever journey Sonic stumbled into.


	4. Luigi's Vacation

Jumping, that was a thing that Luigi did sometimes. Well, more often than outsiders of the Mushroom Kingdom would think! Some of them didn’t even know his name, or the harrowing adventures he undertook. He had broken his back for the kingdom time and again, only to be recognized as "Green ‘Stache" or "Other Mario." But it was honest work, and anything beyond local fame wasn’t exactly Luigi’s goal or concern.

Speaking of concerns, the green hero didn’t have many today, and he expected he wouldn’t for the next couple of days.  It was vacation time for Luigi! An opened, half-packed suitcase rested on his perfectly made green bed. Humming quietly, he picked up two white socks with red stripes and folded them together. Things had to be neat and clean, and fast. He and Mario would be leaving for their vacation soon.

Luigi opened the drawer to his nightstand, on which stood a green lamp decorated with tiny stars. Inside the drawer were a few power-ups: two Fire Flowers, a Boomerang Flower, a Super Leaf, a Lucky Bell, and a Super Star. “Well,” Luigi said to himself, “call me paranoid, but I’m-a going to bring these along. I can't be too careful when I'm all out of extra lives.” He grabbed each item and pocketed them. “Yoink.”

“Luigi,” he heard Mario call for him, “it’s-a almost time to go! We have a few friends who’ve-a come to say goodbye!” Mario laughed happily. Luigi heard muffled chatter between his brother and Peach. Peach must have come to bid them farewell: expected.

Luigi quickly packed his other clothes and shut the suitcase. “Bang,” he said quietly to himself, “I did it!”

Luigi left his second-story room. There was a small hallway, to the right of which was a staircase. The red door to Mario’s room was next to Luigi's green door. Luigi walked down the hallway and headed downstairs.

“And then I punched him so hard he couldn’t remember his own name!” enthused Daisy, punching the palm of her hand to demonstrate.

“Daisy?” Luigi looked shocked to find her standing next to Peach. He hadn’t heard her voice from upstairs. Maybe she hadn’t been saying much then, or maybe he was hallucinating. It was a slim chance, but it was possible!

When Daisy saw her significant other, one of the  _ biggest, happiest  _ smiles Luigi had ever seen spread all over her face. “It’s Ouija Board! You look ready to go, huh? Come and give Daisy a hug!”

Peach and Mario laughed together, though Mario seemed to be enjoying the comment much more than Peach. He could hardly breathe. Peach managed to keep herself composed after a while, even when Mario kept laughing in the background. “Ouija Board,” Peach echoed, “that’s a new one.”

Too embarrassed to look at anyone else, Luigi hid his face underneath his hat. “Daisy, why?”

Unexpectedly, Daisy suddenly pulled him into a hug in his blindness. She spun him around and around, saying, “Because I love ya, dork! If I didn’t, I wouldn’t pull this stuff, hah!” Dropping him from the hug, Daisy left Luigi dazed and almost unable to keep balance.

Mario looked like he was finally starting to recollect himself. “Ooh, we’re gonna miss your jokes, Daisy. I’m-a going to write that one down on our flight to New Donk City.”

“That’s right,” Peach remembered, “you two are going to New Donk City for your vacation. It’s been an awful long time since Bowser has done anything, so it should be safe.”

“And even if it’s not,” added Daisy, putting a hand on her chest proudly, “I’ll gladly swing him by his tail myself and get his rear end outta our business!”

“You’d better!” Mario encouraged before grabbing onto Luigi’s arm. “C’mon, Luigi, it’s-a time to go!”

“Wah! But where’s our ride?” Luigi inquired frantically. “Can’t I have a bit longer to say goodbye?”

Suddenly, a small private jet landed in front of Mario's Pad as Mario dragged his younger brother outside. The plane violently screeched to a halt. It had Prof. E. Gadd’s logo on it. This was Gadd-branded. That gave Luigi a pit in his stomach. “Oh no...”

“It’s-a right here, Luigi! It’s a self-driving private jet!” Mario shook Luigi back and forth, staring only at the private jet. “Isn’t that cooooool?”

“It’s-a terrifying," Luigi rebuked. "We’re flying several thousands of feet into the air, and the only thing keeping us alive is a Gadd-branded autopilot.”

Daisy smacked the back of Luigi’s head; this forced his hat over his eyes again. “C’mon, Weej, it’s not that bad! You’ve got to trust the old man!”

Somehow, that’s what it always came down to for Luigi.  _ "Trust the old man," she says. "It’s not that bad," she says. _ E. Gadd had dragged Luigi into a bad spot on more than one occasion. This had better not be one of them. Straightening his hat again, Luigi smiled at Daisy.  _ For her. Do it for her. No crazy adventures this time. Just a vacation. _ That’s why he was here. “Okay, you got it!”

“That’s the spirit, Weegee-boy!” said Daisy. She bent over and rubbed both of Luigi’s cheeks to hold his face close to hers. “You’re such a cutie-patootie. Nobody would ever hurt my wittle precious bean boy.” She looked at him closely in the eyes and continued on rubbing his cheeks. “Because, if they did, I would strangle them! Yes I would, yes I would...”

Peach tapped Daisy’s shoulder. “Ahem...”

“Oh! Right! Go time! Time to go!” Daisy let go of Luigi’s face. “Okay, you go get ‘em, tiger! Relax, have fun, and punch the bad guys for me if you find any of them!”

Luigi wasn’t sure if he would, but...

“Okie-dokie!” Mario enthused. “Now let’s-a ride on this private jet! It’s soooo cool! I’m excited! Wahoo!” the older of the brothers jumped inside the jet.

Luigi grabbed his suitcase, headed after him, and turned back to wave his farewells to Daisy and Peach. “Bye-bye!”

They both waved back. “Farewell! Take care!” Peach said.

“Buh-bye!” Daisy called.

The automatic private jet took off...


	5. Chaotix

Sonic and Tails had returned to Emerald Town, their hometown. They were staying in Tails's house with the Chaotix Detective Agency, a group of freelance investigators headed by Vector the Crocodile. Less than a week ago, the agency had found Silver the Hedgehog wandering the northern coast of South Island. Since then, they had been working with Sonic and Tails to try to send Silver to the future: his home. Tails had been attempting to create a smaller version of Dr. Eggman's time machine. However, his workshop in Central City had been deemed too small for this project, so they'd moved to Tails's main workplace, his own home.

Tails was now standing at the head of his living room in front of a chalkboard. Sonic was lounging on a sofa while eating a chilidog, and the Chaotix were roughhousing in Tails's kitchen nearby. Espio the Chameleon, the detective agency’s resident ninja, was bouncing from the walls to the ceiling to evade Charmy Bee, the agency’s mascot. Charmy was in pursuit of the final slice of pizza, which Espio had been greedily hoarding, and Vector was shouting at them to calm down. Silver, the futuristic hedgehog, was entranced by a handheld gaming device and was sitting on the floor in front of Sonic as he attempted to clear the game’s final level using only his psychokinetic powers. 

“Ahem!” Tails cleared his throat, “May I have your attention, please?” Sonic gave him a halfhearted glance as he finished his current chilidog and began to consume his fourth. Vector had caught Espio and Charmy and dragged them into the room; the final slice of pizza was dangling from his pointed mouth. Silver gave Tails a peace sign to indicate that he was listening, but he did not take his gaze or concentration from the game at his feet. 

Tails sighed, but he continued nonetheless. “As you all know, we believe that Silver was brought here to our time by mistake when I reversed the polarity of Dr. Eggman’s time machine before his Egg Narwhal crashed. The machine was designed to take someone from our time and send them to the past, but I must have accidentally reconfigured it to take someone from the future and bring them to our time.” 

“Mmhmm,” Sonic mumbled between bites of his fifth chilidog. 

“We know that already,” Vector groaned after swallowing his pizza.

“What’s a time machine?” Charmy asked.

Tails continued, “Since then, my attempts at building my own time machine based on Eggman’s have been… less than successful.” 

“Well, yeah,” Sonic commented with a mouthful of food, “Eggman had the Master Emerald, and you just used the spare battery from Vector’s moped.”

“May she rest in peace,” Charmy added somberly. Espio made a hand sign and bowed his head in silent prayer. Vector blew his nose into a tissue after wiping crocodile tears from his eyes. 

Tails sighed again, “That aside, I think I have a solution. The answer is the Chaos Emeralds.” 

“Isn’t it always?” Sonic asked sarcastically. 

Tails groaned and became increasingly frustrated. “Hear me out on this one. I’ve been gathering data about Chaos Control, and there may be a hidden facet to the technique that we don’t understand.” 

“Mystic jewels let us warp across time and space by shouting, ‘Chaos Control!’ What’s not to understand?” Sonic yawned as he finished his last chilidog and leaned back into the sofa.

Tails just ignored him this time. “When two people use Chaos Control simultaneously, there can be a variety of outcomes. For example, Sonic, when you and Shadow worked together to warp FinalHazard away from the atmosphere and keep the ARK from crashing, you both used Chaos Control at the same time. The result was essentially a more powerful Chaos Control that allowed you to warp something as large as the ARK. We’ll call this form ‘cooperative Chaos Control.’ Then, consider our fight with Saturn. Sonic, you were able to get the upper hand by using Chaos Control at the same time as Saturn; this froze time around both of you and prevented him from using Chaos Control to warp around. Is that right?”

Sonic replied, “Yeah, not gonna lie, I just did what Shadow suggested. I don’t really know how it worked.” 

“Well, your Chaos Control wasn’t cooperating with Saturn’s, so instead of making a more powerful Chaos Control, it essentially just stopped time in parallel. That’s why I call this interaction ‘parallel Chaos Control,’” Tails elaborated.

“Get to the point!” Vector groaned. 

“Okay, here we go! I think there might be a third type of interaction. If two Chaos Controls were used against one another—a ‘competitive Chaos Control’—I think it would create a rift in space-time through which someone could time travel!” 

“Awesome!” Silver shouted as he completed the final level of his game. Then he stopped and looked at Tails's blackboard. “Wait. Hang on. I’m seeing a lot of problems here. First of all, doesn’t that Chaos Control thing require Chaos Emeralds? We don’t have any. Second, even if we did, nobody here but Sonic can use Chaos Control. We’d need a second user. Third, how do we know this rift would take me to my future? Couldn’t it lead to literally anywhere on the timeline?” 

Tails sighed, “I know it’s not perfect, but it’s the best lead we’ve got.”

Sonic stood up and cracked his knuckles. “Shadow had the Chaos Emeralds last time we saw him. He warped away with them after we beat the Silver Overlord. I bet he’s still got them. We’ll just need to find him and get him to help us. Since he can use Chaos Control too, that should solve our first two problems at least.” 

“I’ll work on figuring out a solution to the third problem,” Tails added. “Vector, do you think you and your agency could figure out where Shadow is for us?”

Vector looked at Charmy and Espio and then back to Tails. “I think he’s probably in Metropolis,” he shrugged. 

“What? You figured that out already?” Sonic seemed shocked.

“Well, I called back G.U.N. to let them know you took care of that oilrig,” Vector explained, “and I’m pretty sure I heard him yell something in the background. I traced their call since I was curious, and they’re in Metropolis.” 

“Whoa! That was way too easy!” Sonic exclaimed. “I guess our next stop is Metropolis!”


	6. Scrambled Eggs

Shadow’s squad reached a branch in the tunnels. Three separate paths forked off in front of them. They stopped for a moment to consider each direction. Topaz pulled out a device before sighing, “No good, our scanners are useless down here.” 

“I guess we’ll have to split up,” Rouge suggested. 

“Fine by me,” Shadow said as he walked toward the path to the left, “you all explore the other two. Let me know if you find Eggman.”

“Ma’am!” a G.U.N. soldier announced, “I’ve received a call from Detective Crocodile! Sonic has neutralized the situation at the oilrig. The Eggman there was a fake, just as we suspected.”

“He must have sent the decoy to throw us off when he figured out we were coming,” Rouge guessed. 

“That Sonic wrapped things up on his end a lot quicker than you, huh?” Saturn chastised from within Shadow’s mind. 

“I said shut up!” Shadow screamed as he stomped on the ground. The G.U.N. soldiers exchanged glances before looking to Topaz. The one on the phone with Detective Crocodile ended their call. 

“Right,” Topaz ordered, “Rouge will go down the path to the right. She can travel more discreetly if she’s alone, and we’ll only slow her down. The rest of you come with me down the middle. Omega, would you mind accompanying us? We could use your firepower if things get hairy.” 

“All Eggman robots must be eliminated,” Omega affirmed before walking down the middle path. Rouge flew down the path to the right, and Topaz marched after Omega with her G.U.N. soldiers and Hunters. 

Meanwhile, Eggman was reclining in a lawn chair in his newest laboratory. A sun lamp was positioned over his head, and his robotic assistant Cubot was fanning him with an oversized banana leaf. A team of EggBots were working diligently around him on various plans and machines. Eggman sipped from his tropical beverage, complete with a tiny umbrella, and chuckled to his assistant, “Cubot, I am absolutely brilliant.”

“Yessir, I reckon ya are,” Cubot replied in a thick accent.

“Who else could concoct so many diabolical schemes simultaneously? I have so many maniacal plans for world domination that I designed these EggBots since not even I could work on them all at once. Then I thought,  _ Why don’t I just have the EggBots work on  _ all  _ of the schemes for me? _ Yes, Cubot, this has to have been my greatest plan yet.” 

“I do believe that you got yerself what ya might call a point there, sir,” Cubot affirmed.

“EggBot α!” the scientist barked, “How goes the progress with that new Gizoid?” 

The EggBot replied in a mechanical, monotone voice, “Our attempts to restore and reprogram the inactive Gizoid have shown increasing levels of success. The prefect is nearly functioning at full capacity.” This robot worked diligently over a keyboard connected to a metal pod. 

“Splendid!” Eggman affirmed, “What about you, EggBot γ?”

“I believe I have resolved the paradoxical programming that caused Metal Sonic to destroy your time machine.” This EggBot was using tools to adjust the circuitry in the back of Metal Sonic’s head. The robotic hedgehog sat motionless in a stool in front of the EggBot. “As you know, his commands are not given by a single processor, but by a cluster of separate CPUs networked together. Each of these CPUs independently generates separate algorithms and decisions based on memories stored in individual chips. They then each submit a command to the ALU, which chooses from or combines the commands as needed to respond to separate stimuli. The aberrant command that caused him to protect Amy Rose seems to have emerged from his time as Neo Metal Sonic, where he believed himself to be the original Sonic. We could not remove the processor that generated this command physically without deactivating his automatic repair system. The auto-repair system is self-preserving beyond our control and would simply recreate the processor and the command as soon as it was reactivated, so we moved the chip to a different location in his hardware. The processor associated with that chip now makes decisions based on a new memory chip, and the old chip should be perceived as foreign data and blocked by the ALU's security protocol. I have used a similar method to alter his self-preservation protocol as well. He now prioritizes your more recent orders over his primary directive.” 

Eggman groaned, “That auto-repair system may prove more troublesome than it’s worth. We might have to overhaul our designs and remove it from my Badniks altogether at this rate. What about you, EggBot β?” 

“Sir,” replied Orbot, a different robot and Eggman’s other devoted assistant, “EggBot β is in the other room seeing to the Dimension Grappler personally, but he is transmitting data to me remotely. The machine is nearly fully operational. We are currently identifying potential candidates, and we will be ready to pull them into our reality shortly!” 

“What have you got so far?” Eggman asked. “That storybook connects this world to an alternate reality, the world of the Arabian Nights. If we can use its power to connect to other realities, we should be able to find an evil version of Sonic to help us thwart this reality’s good one! Who knows? We might even find an  _ army  _ of evil Sonics!” 

“So far,” Orbot replied, “we’ve found a Sonic that is slightly shorter and fatter than the original.” 

“No, that’s just how he looked in the past,” Eggman dismissed.

“There’s also a Sonic that’s taller and wearing a scarf,” Orbot continued.

“That sounds hideous but not necessarily evil,” Eggman scoffed.

“Well, there’s one who has green fur and blue eyes instead of blue fur and green eyes.”

“Hmm, inverted colors,” Eggman mused, “that could be promising. Is there any other information on this one?”

“Oh! You are going to love this!” Orbot exclaimed. “His name is Scourge the Hedgehog!” 

Eggman sat up in his chair excitedly. “Perfect! Bring him once the machine is ready!” 

“Um, sir, I reckon I may got some bad news fer ya,” Cubot added. Eggman eyed him curiously and beckoned for him to continue, “Well, uh, it seems EggBot δ was destroyed by Sonic, and the diversion didn’t work. Shadow and them there agents from G.U.N. are still comin’ this-a-way.”

“Blast it!” Eggman exclaimed. “Have the Metals hold them off until the Grappler is ready!”


	7. Lady of the Lake

Nimue patiently waited by the lakeside.The pink hedgehog clutched the sacred sword Excalibur in her grip, and she stared down a Knight of the Round Table. "Sir Gawain," she began, "do you truly believe you are worthy to wield Excalibur?"

"Heck yeah, I'm worthy!" Gawain boasted. "Excalibur is, like, one-quarter Galatine, and let's not forget Galatine was my trustly blade. I've practically wielded it already." 

"Do not forget that Excalibur is also comprised of Arondight and Laevatein, whose wielders have tried and failed to claim its power already," Nimue reminded him. 

"Pssh, of course those two weren't worthy." Gawain shrugged off Nimue's implications. "Lancelot's got the whole kingdom in a civil war, and Percival ran off with Galahad to find the Holy Grail instead of staying to fight for the people." 

"What you say is true," Nimue admitted reluctantly. "However, since the king vanished, Excalibur has fallen silent, and no one has been able to draw it from its sheath."

"Just give it here," Gawain insisted, and Nimue handed the sturdy knight the sword. Despite his superhuman strength, however, the knight struggled in vain and failed to unsheathe the sacred sword. 

"I knew it," the pink hedgehog sighed. Nimue extended her hand to reclaim Excalibur. 

"Hold on!" Gawain protested. "I think I've almost got it!" He heaved and huffed and even tried biting the hilt. 

"Guess I was worried for nothing," a deeper voice interrupted. Gawain suddenly froze. Nimue turned around and saw another knight, Sir Lancelot. The dark knight had appeared suddenly and was crossing his arms. 

"You!" Gawain snapped. "What are you doing here?" 

"You already tried your hand at Excalibur," Nimue declared. 

"You know, I was thinking about that," Lancelot mused. "That sword is nothing but a nuisance." 

"Excalibur is the mark of Camelot's rightful king!" Nimue argued. 

"Is it now?" Lancelot rebutted. "As I recall, the first person you gave it to went mad with power and drove the kingdom into darkness. Then, its second wielder abandoned the kingdom and all its people. Right now, it's just an excuse. The people will blindly follow whoever draws that sword, no matter how 'worthy' they are, instead of paying homage to a true ruler: me." 

"You have driven our people to war with themselves!" Nimue shot back. 

"I'm reigning in the fools with the might of the enlightened," Lancelot corrected. "Why shouldn't I be king? I'm the ultimate life-form, and I'm the strongest Knight of the Round Table, or would you rather we sit around waiting for that blue knave to return?" 

"I will guard the sacred sword until its rightful owner emerges," Nimue asserted. 

"That sword would lead Camelot to damnation," Lancelot decreed, "but I won't let that happen. None shall draw Excalibur. Hand it over, and this doesn't have to get messy." 

"You would threaten the Lady of the Lake?" Gawain interjected as he stepped between Lancelot and Nimue. The armored echidna held the sheathed sword in a fighting stance as he prepared to defend the lady. 

"Stay out of this, Knucklehead," Lancelot chastised. "I am finding myself in an unmerciful mood." 

"Is that a fact?" a fourth voice interjected as a sword flew from a nearby brush. The curved blade spiraled through the air toward Lancelot, who leapt backward to dodge. The sword curved around in midair and returned to its thrower, an armored hawk who caught his sword and darted between Lancelot and the others. 

"Sir Lamorak!" Nimue called. 

"So I was followed..." Lancelot growled. 

"Sir Gawain, get the lady and Excalibur out of here!" Lamorak ordered. "Make haste!" 

"Are you kidding?" Gawain objected. "We can take him down here and now if we work together!" 

"Not at the expense of the lady's safety!" Lamorak protested. "Besides, his reinforcements will be upon us at any moment. Now go!" 

"You'll pay for this, Sir Lamorak," Lancelot swore as he assumed a fighting stance. 

"Grr, catch up to us once you're done here!" Gawain instructed his companion. Then, he took Nimue by the hand and dashed away with the pink hedgehog in tow. The sound of clashing steel marked the beginning of Lancelot and Lamorak's battle behind them. 

"Unhand me!" Nimue demanded as she jerked away from Gawain's grip before the two could get very far. "Defending Excalibur is my responsibility, not that of the knights!" 

"Your Ladyship, please," Gawain replied, "Sir Lancelot has lost himself! He will not listen to you anymore!" 

"I raised Lancelot like my own child!" Nimue argued. "I will take responsibility for what he has become!" 

"Milady, I beseech thee!" Gawain pleaded, but Nimue had already begun to run back toward the battle. She could hear Gawain pursuing her from behind, but she was faster than he. Lancelot would listen to reason. She would make him if she must. 


	8. What Was His Name Again?

Mario stared at the ceiling of the plane. Twiddling his thumbs, Luigi kicked his legs up and down as he waited for the time to pass. Eventually, Mario took out a small notepad and a pen from his overalls, and he began to jot something down.

Luigi leaned over curiously, but Mario held the writing away from Luigi’s view as the older brother continued to trail his pen along the paper. “What are you drawing?”

“I’m-a not really drawing anything,” Mario said honestly.

“But you’re writing something?”

Mario wheezed quietly with laughter as he nodded his head. “Oh, I sure am...” He showed Luigi the large nickname scribbled messily all over the page. “Ouija Board!”

“Hey!” Luigi exclaimed with an embarrassed blush crawling all over his face. “Why are you quoting Daisy at me?”

“Because I told her  _ and  _ you  _ and  _ Peach that I would write it down on the plane. Here we are, on the plane. And here I am, doing the unthinkable. Is it so hard to imagine?”

Luigi folded his arms with a grumpy huff, turning away from his older brother. “You are not allowed to pick on meeeee.”

Laughing light-heartedly, Mario put the notepad and pen back into his overalls. With a smile on his face he let out a contented sigh. Life was perfect for him, as it always was. At least, it sure seemed that way now.

A few moments of silence passed. Mario looked like he was starting to daydream about things that made him happy. That man was always soaring with raw positive energy in some way or another. This time he just happened to be literally soaring in a plane.

Luigi broke the silence.

“Hey, Mario,” he asked, “do you ever bowl?”

The red brother’s daydreams looked like they had just been skewered. A few more seconds of silence passed. “Noooo,” Mario nervously said as his gaze slowly turned out the window, “I never bowled professionally.”

“ _ Can _ you bowl, Mario?”

“Anyone  _ can _ bowl!”

Luigi leaned over to try and see Mario’s face, who was still gazing out the window. “But can you bowl  _ well _ ?”

Mario’s sweat became more visible by the passing moment. He still wouldn’t turn around to face Luigi. “‘ _ Well _ ’? I can bowl very nicely! Mario doesn’t need things like practice and discipline!” the older brother asserted. 

“Can I see you bowl sometime then?”

Mario looked back to Luigi. His eyes darted to the side. There was yet another pause. He made eye contact with Luigi again. “No.”

Luigi smiled slyly. “I’ll bet you if we bowled against each other, I would win.”

“I think I would trounce you in a heartbeat, Luigi. You’re just as inexperienced as me!”

“Ahah, so you admit it! You’re inexperienced!”

“W-w-but... okay fine. Let’s find out which one of us can bowl better when we get to the city!”

“New Donk City awaits us, heheh!” Luigi may finally be better than Mario at something. Whether or not anyone would know about their legendary bowling match would never undermine the feeling of victory.

“Oh, speaking of sports, Luigi,” Mario added on, “do you remember the Olympic Games? Sonic was there and everything, and so was Amy, and that green guy who looked like a very tall, friendly Koopa!”

“Yes, I remember that! And that weird guy who tried to copy our mustaches!” Luigi confirmed. “What was his name again?”

Leaning back in his chair, Mario looked up at the ceiling. “I thought it was Dr. Bleck-Sand...”

Luigi stroked his mustache thoughtfully. “It was... Dr. Deckban.”

Mario tapped his fingers for a while on either arm of his chair. Suddenly his eyes lit up. “That’s right! It was Dr. Halterneck! Wasn’t it Halterneck?”

Luigi shook his head. “No, that doesn’t ring a bell. I thought his name was Dr. Check-Back, like he really needed to watch his back or something. That’s how I always remembered his name. I think...”

Mario shrugged a big, confused shrug. “No idea! I can’t remember for the life of me! Either way, his mustache was definitely a copy of ours. You were right about that!” Mario’s tone turned mildly cross. “He seriously needs to learn how to get his own fashion sense. Wasn’t he even wearing red like-a me?”

Luigi nodded, arms folded with confidence. “Yes, that’s-a right! The only thing he was missing was a hat, and then it would just be cosplay!”

“I only let my fans cosplay as me!” Mario fumed a bit louder. “Dr. Heckman is no well-meaning fan! He’s a toolbag!”

“Was he a toolbag? I only remember him copying our fashion sense...” Luigi mused over the concept of someone with an outrageous mustache being evil. It seemed impossible. Everyone knows that mustaches are the marks of heroes. This rule excluded Wario and Waluigi, of course, who were, in fact, cosplaying.

Mario nodded firmly. “Hmm! There’s no mistaking it! That guy was a lousy Nogoodnik! If he steals my look and ‘stache, the only explanation is that he’s-a filled with evil!”

Luigi was about to reply, but then something out the window passed Mario’s shoulder caught his eye. Tall buildings, flashing signs, and advertising billboards were in the distance. Busy streets could be seen below them with cars that looked like itty-bitty ants building a colony. “Oh! Hey, look at that!” Luigi noticed. “Are we almost there?”

Surprised, Mario looked back out the window. “Mama mia, we’re already there! This private jet flies fast! Yep, that’s-a New Donk City alright!”

Luigi was excited to land! The ride really wasn’t that bad. Maybe the mad professor who had made this plane could be trusted a little more after all. But, more than anything, Luigi was especially ready to defeat Mario in their bowling match...


	9. Neo

Sonic waited impatiently at the Emerald Town airport. Vector was using his connections to secure the earliest flight to Metropolis while Charmy blew his week's salary on an assortment of Chao-shaped bobbleheads from the nearby gift shop. "Are you sure I can't just run ahead and meet you there?" Sonic asked Tails while his friend tapped away on a handheld console. 

"Would it kill you to be a team player just this once?" Tails sighed. "It won't be long once we get on the plane." 

"Yeah, but what am I supposed to do until then?" the impatient speedster complained. 

"Why don't you try the arcade across the street?" Tails suggested. "That's where Silver and Espio went." 

"I guess that beats this snore-fest," Sonic conceded before darting out of the airport. 

"Are you sure using my psychokinesis like that wasn't cheating?" Silver asked Espio as the two exited the arcade in the meantime. 

"A ninja utilizes every advantage at his disposal," Espio commented. 

"But those kids were crying," Silver lamented as he examined his prize, a life-sized plush of Sonic the Hedgehog himself, "and I'm not really sure what to do with this thing." 

"Victory is its own reward," Espio asserted lowly. Then, the chameleon stopped in his tracks and held his arm in front of Silver. "Hold." 

Silver bumped into Espio's arm before halting. "What's going — "

The hedgehog's question was interrupted when a razor-sharp blade cut through the air. Silver instinctively pushed the newcomer backward with his psychokinesis as the slash came too close to his face for comfort. The head of Silver's stuffed prize had been severed by the sudden attack. "Target eliminated," a metallic voice asserted. "Subjects: Espio the Chameleon and Silver the Hedgehog. Species: chameleon and hedgehog. Classification: enemy. Threat level: maximal." 

"Not this guy again!" Silver groaned before surrounding himself in psychokinetic energy. 

"Are you acquainted?" Espio inquired before drawing a giant shuriken from seemingly nowhere. The familiar robotic hedgehog stared down the pair. Its tall, silver frame was unmistakable: Silver Sonic II. The hole Hyper Sonic had torn through its torso had been replaced with black metal, and its formerly-orange eyes had become red. 

"Yeah, that's Silver Sonic II, but I thought Sonic had destroyed it," Silver recalled, "and it seems different now." 

"Neo Silver Sonic II," Espio dubbed the robot. 

"Initiate advanced combat protocol," Neo Silver Sonic II said, and a jagged blade extended from its right forearm. 

"Look out!" Espio cried as the machine rushed forward at the speed of sound. The chameleon moved in front of Silver just in time to parry the juggernaut's jagged blade with his shuriken. 

Silver was startled for a moment at their opponent's speed, but he regained his composure instantly and wrapped the robot in psychic power. Using psychokinesis, Silver intensified the force of gravity on Neo Silver Sonic II, and the juggernaut fell to its knees under its own weight. 

"How did it track us this far?" Silver wondered aloud as he and Espio jumped backward to gain some distance. Silver strained to hold the juggernaut still. 

"Sonic the Hedgehog: eliminated," Neo Silver Sonic II erroneously asserted. "Secondary target: Shadow the Hedgehog. Current subjects: inconsequential." 

"Did it truly mistake that toy for Sonic?" Espio asked Silver as he glanced at the decapitated plush.

"I think it's malfunctioning," Silver guessed as he clenched his hands and forced the struggling robot back to the ground. "I mean, it was dead the last time we saw it, so I guess that makes sense." 

"How long can you hold it?" Espio asked. 

"Ten more seconds, tops," Silver admitted as he forced the robot to the ground again. 

"Then I shall dispatch it in that time," the ninja declared before darting onward. He let out a martial cry as he somersaulted forward and descended onto the robot with his shuriken in hand. Espio landed and slashed his multi-bladed weapon down through the head of Neo Silver Sonic II. The attack bisected the robot's cranium and upper body. "What..." 

"Chaos Blast," Neo Silver Sonic II declared. Chaotic energy exploded from the robot's body. 

Silver's psychokinetic hold on the machine broke, and the futuristic hedgehog tumbled backward from the excess force of the attack. "Espio!" he exclaimed worriedly. 

To his relief, however, Espio was now standing at his side. Sonic the Hedgehog had zoomed in at the last second and snatched Espio away from the Chaos Blast's radius. "My thanks," Espio offered as Sonic confidently brushed his nose. 

"Well, Tails was right. The arcade looks pretty fun after all," Sonic chuckled. 

Meanwhile, Neo Silver Sonic II rose to its feet. A clean slice still extended from the top of its head through its torso. However, embedded in the machine's now-exposed innards, Sonic, Silver, and Espio could now see the seven Chaos Emeralds. "Error," Neo Silver Sonic II reported as its red eyes flashed repeatedly. 

"I thought Shadow had the Chaos Emeralds," Silver marveled. 

"This guy just saved us a trip to Metropolis," Sonic observed. "We'll finish this quick and have you home for supper, Silver." 

"Subject: Sonic the Hedgehog. Error: Sonic the Hedgehog has been eliminated. Resolution: This Sonic is a faker," Neo Silver Sonic II deduced. 

"Who are you calling a faker?" Sonic shouted back. 

"Come!" Espio rallied. "We must retrieve the Chaos Emeralds before it can attack again!" 

"Let's go!" Silver agreed, and the three darted forward. 

"Chaos Control," said Neo Silver Sonic II. 


	10. Robotic Rendezvous | Eradicate | Controlled Chaos

Part I: Robotic Rendezvous

"Well, hello there, handsome," Rouge mused under her breath as she peeked around the corner and saw an armored door guarded by a metallic doppelganger of Knuckles. "Guess there's no way around you, huh?" 

"I can see your heat signature," the Metal declared. 

Rouge sashayed out from her hiding place in response. "Well, now, look what the Chao dragged in. I seem to recall hearing quite a sob story about how Metal Sonic turned you to scrap not that long ago." 

"Sonic did what?" the Metal wondered. "Oh, right, you're talking about the first Knuckles. I'm actually Metal Knuckles II. The Eggster threw me together after my big brother bit the dust. He said the artificial personality in that one was too..." 

"Angsty?" Rouge finished. 

"That, yes," Metal Knuckles II agreed. "Anyway, I'm a bit more mellow, so as long as you don't try to go any farther, I'd be down to just stand around and chat." 

"Hmm, any chance I could get by with a kiss?" Rouge teased. 

"I'm not sure what exactly you take me for," the robot responded. Rouge drew a pair of twin pistols from her hip and fired them at the robot. Metal Knuckles II crossed his arms in front of him, and an orange force field materialized from his forearms. The bullets bounced harmlessly off as the robot declared, "I might have to update my dictionary's definition of  _ kiss _ ." 

Tiny rockets in the robot's feet propelled the metallic musclehead forward, and his shield continued to deflect Rouge's ammo as he closed the gap between them. Rouge flipped forward over the charging robot once he reached her. Then she spun around in midair and kicked the robot in the back of the head. The blow disrupted Metal Knuckles II's posture, and his shield dissipated as he caught himself with his arms. 

The robot quickly turned around and struck at Rouge, who dodged from side to side as the metallic musclehead unleashed a barrage of consecutive punches. The bat ducked down and tried to sweep-kick her opponent to knock him off his feet, but the robot simply propelled himself into the air with his rocket-powered shoes to dodge. Now hovering in midair, Metal Knuckles II's fists transformed into laser guns. "Pucker up!" he chuckled before rapid-firing a barrage of laser beams at his foe. 

Rouge backflipped away from her opponent to narrowly avoid the barrage until she reached the armored door. "Ooh, were you shooting at me, cutie?" she taunted as she evaded the lasers, which instead struck the armored door. 

Metal Knuckles II ceased fire. "You think you're clever, don't you?" he called back before his hands transformed back into spiked fists. Then, he pointed one of his arms forward and launched that fist from his arm like a rocket at Rouge. Rouge darted toward the projectile and slid underneath it at the last moment. The missile instead struck the armored door and violently exploded. Rouge smiled triumphantly at the threshold, but to her dismay, no damage had been incurred to the door at all. "Please, that door's tougher than I am!" the red robot taunted as he pointed his second fist at Rouge. 

"You don't say?" Rouge murmured to herself. Then, she pointed one of her pistols at Metal Knuckles II and fired. The armor-piercing bullet flew through the robot's explosive fist, and the would-be missile detonated while it was still connected to the metallic musclehead. The fiery blast blew Metal Knuckles II to bits. 

Satisfied, Rouge turned back to the armored door. She placed her hand on it to inspect it more thoroughly, but to her dismay, she found the door was merely a hologram. Her hand phased through the projection and found only the stone of the tunnel's walls behind. "Tch, I've been had," she muttered. 

* * *

Part II: Eradicate

"Halt," Omega warned Topaz and the group of G.U.N. agents behind him. The tunnel they were traversing ended at an armored door, which was being guarded by a metallic fox with twin tails. "Analysis: Tails Doll has been upgraded. Designation: Metal Tails. Eradicate Eggman's robot." Omega's clawed hands retracted and were replaced by a pair of rotary machine guns. 

A flurry of bullets erupted from the robot's arms, but Metal Tails crossed his twin tails in front of himself, and the tails generated a shield of yellow energy. "Hehehehe," Metal Tails chuckled robotically, "this might be fun." Metal Tails effortlessly withstood Omega's gunfire until the robot stopped to keep from overloading his guns. "My turn!" the robotic fox squealed gleefully, and the tips of his twin tails opened to reveal a pair of rotary guns similar to Omega's. 

"Defensive position!" Topaz rallied, and the G.U.N. troops formed a line behind their riot shields. The shields endured Metal Tails's barrage of gunfire, but Omega, ahead of the line, had to settle for covering what he could of himself with his arms. "Beetles, advance!" Topaz ordered, and the two G.U.N. robots marched forward, covering themselves with their own shields. 

"Aww, that's no fun..." Metal Tails whined. Then, the metallic fox flew forward using rockets in his shoes. The machine's tails returned to their original form as he darted behind one of the Beetles, and his sharp tail stabbed the machine through the back. Omega's guns had recharged, and he opened fire at Metal Tails again, but the metallic fox merely shielded himself using the Beetle's carcass while pointing his other tail at the G.U.N. agents. The metallic fox's tail opened again, but this time, a single large barrel was behind its tip. "Burn away!" the robot cackled as he fired a massive laser at the G.U.N. agents. 

The second Beetle jumped in front of the blast and exploded violently; it had shielded its creators with its artificial life. "Look alive!" Topaz warned her men before throwing a grenade over the line at Metal Tails. The playful robot simply caught the explosive in his hand. 

"Let's play catch!" he decreed gleefully as he prepared to hurl the bomb back at the agents, but suddenly a clawed hand caught his own. "Huh? What are you — "

"Eradicate!" Omega repeated as his grip tightened over Metal Tails's hand and the explosive. In another moment, the bomb detonated. 

"Omega!" Topaz exclaimed worriedly. When the smoke cleared, however, the friendly robot still stood. Omega was missing his right arm — the one that had held the grenade — but he was otherwise intact. Metal Tails, on the other hand, had been blown to smithereens. One of the robotic fox's tails had barely survived the blast, and it was attempting to wriggle away like a worm, but Omega caught the tail in his remaining hand and crushed it in his superhuman grip. 

"Eradicated," Omega declared. 

Topaz's agents inspected the door at the end of the hall for a way through, but they found the threshold was merely a hologram. 

* * *

Part III: Controlled Chaos

“Shadow, this is Topaz. Our route was a dead end,” the G.U.N. agent radioed in through Shadow’s earpiece. “Omega’s injured. We need to assess the damage before we can double back.”

“Copy,” Shadow affirmed.

“Hey, Honey,” Rouge checked in over the radio, “I beat another Metal Knuckles, but this tunnel’s a bust. Mind going ahead without me?”

“No problem,” Shadow agreed as he continued forward.

“Another Metal Knuckles, huh?” Saturn’s voice mused in Shadow’s head. “And there was something strong enough to wound Omega. Do you think Eggman rebuilt that Metal Shadow?”

“Shut it,” Shadow ordered the inner voice.

“Aw, I was just thinking if he did, we could team up and blow it to bits, just like old times,” Saturn’s voice chuckled.

“That was last month,” Shadow retorted.

“Hey, considering how long I’ve been alive, it feels like years,” Saturn laughed.

The internal laughter was interrupted by an incoming laser, which Shadow sidestepped to dodge. Ahead of him, he saw Metal Sonic, standing guard in front of an armored door. The robotic hedgehog had fired a laser at Shadow from one of his arms. “If it isn’t the Metal Faker, back on the side of yesterday’s omelet?” Shadow taunted. “What would Amy say if she saw you out here?”

“Her approval is a nonfactor,” Metal Sonic replied mechanically.

“Jeez, you’re about as inconsistent as they come,” Shadow chuckled. “She’d probably cry if I smashed you to bits,” Shadow sighed, “but I think I could live with that.”

Metal Sonic dashed forward at the ultimate life-form. Shadow blocked an incoming punch and then ducked under a kick from the robot. He swung back with heavy punch of his own, which Metal Sonic dodged, and the metallic hedgehog tried to uppercut him. Shadow backflipped to avoid the attack and then curled into a ball in midair. Homing in on Metal Sonic, he flew toward the robot, but the blue doppelganger crossed his arms in front of him to block the Homing Attack.

Shadow bounced off Metal Sonic and uncurled himself. Landing on his feet, the black hedgehog moved his head to the side to dodge another supersonic punch from his opponent. Just then, Rouge radioed in. “Shadow, we have a situation!” she relayed frantically.

“I’m kind of in the middle of something,” Shadow replied as he moved his head from side to side to evade a barrage of punches. Just then, Metal Sonic fired a huge laser from the center of his chest. The blast caught Shadow by surprise and sent the ultimate life-form flying back to the end of the hall.

“This is important!” Rouge insisted as Shadow struggled to his feet and brushed himself off.

Breathing heavily, he said, “Make it quick,” before dashing sideways to dodge a barrage of lasers fired from Metal Sonic’s arms. Using his hover shoes, the ultimate life-form skated around the hall’s floor, walls, and ceiling to circumvent the barrage as he approached his opponent.

“Something remotely activated Silver Sonic II’s remains,” Rouge explained, “the ones being kept at G.U.N. headquarters. According to security footage, the machine’s automatic repair system kicked in, and it repaired itself using the nearby remnants of Metal Shadow. Then it stole the seven Chaos Emeralds and warped away!”

“Why did G.U.N. have the remnants of those robots anyway?” Shadow wondered as he flipped over Metal Sonic’s head. The blue doppelganger turned around instantly to continue firing at Shadow, but the black hedgehog swatted the robot’s arm aside before the blue faker could fire a laser at him. The laser misfired into a nearby wall, and Shadow ducked under a punch from Metal Sonic’s other arm.

“They were trying to extract data on Eggman from them,” Rouge explained. “Pretty much everything else around the Egg Narwhal was scrapped.”

“Whatever,” Shadow retorted as he blocked a kick from Metal Sonic and punched the robot. Metal Sonic skidded backward a few feet from the blow before curling into a ball and launching himself at Shadow. Shadow jumped over the attack, but Metal Sonic ricocheted off the door behind him and attacked Shadow from behind. Shadow turned around in midair and kicked Metal Sonic into a wall. “Where are the Chaos Emeralds now?”

“G.U.N. installed a tracking device in Silver Sonic II’s remains, just in case Eggman tried to steal them back. It looks like he’s in Emerald Town now,” Rouge answered as Shadow landed and blocked a punch from Metal Sonic as the robot sprung off the wall toward him. “Wait. No, he just warped again. Now he’s…”

Suddenly, a group appeared in the hallway in a flash of light: Sonic, Silver, Espio, and Neo Silver Sonic II. Sonic, Silver, and Espio were gripping the metallic juggernaut, who had been sliced open down the middle. The seven Chaos Emeralds were embedded in its exposed interior. Its upper body spun around at the waist to shake off its three aggressors, and then its red eyes turned to Shadow. “Subject: Shadow the Hedgehog. Species: ultimate life-form. Classification: enemy. Threat level: maximal.”

“Great, another one…” Shadow muttered.

“Hey, Shadow!” Sonic greeted him as the blue speedster shook his head to recover from being thrown into the wall. “We were just looking for you!”

“Silver, take care of that door!” Shadow ordered before sidestepping to evade a downward swing from Neo Silver Sonic II’s jagged razorblade.

“Uh, sure thing!” Silver agreed before surrounding the armored door in psychokinetic energy. Metal Sonic fired a barrage of lasers at the futuristic hedgehog to break his concentration, but Espio jumped in the way and deflected the projectiles by twirling his massive shuriken in front of him. After another moment, Silver tore the door down from its hinges.

Behind the door, Dr. Eggman—as well as three identical copies of him—shrieked girlishly. Orbot and Cubot screamed and hovered around frantically before crashing into each other. “Activate the Gizoid!” two of the Eggmen ordered in tandem. “Activate the Dimension Grappler!” the other two exclaimed.

Cubot pulled a lever next to a nearby pod while Orbot hesitated to pull another. “Sir! If we activate them in parallel, the excess energy from the Gizoid could—”

Suddenly, Orbot was surrounded by psychokinetic energy. “Oh no you don’t!” Silver proclaimed as he tried to pull the red robot away from the lever. Orbot grabbed the lever, however, while electricity surged through the pod next to Cubot.

“I’ve got you now, Egghead!” Sonic declared as he tackled one of the Eggmen to the ground. Electricity from the pod continued to surge and sputter throughout the lab, and Silver’s psychic pull caused Orbot to inadvertently pull the Dimension Grappler’s lever as he clung for dear life.

“Chaos Blast!” Neo Silver Sonic II declared as it continued its scuffle with Shadow just outside.


	11. We're Not in Camelot Anymore

In her attempt to return to Lancelot, Nimue was only met with a horde of underworld knights, the evil minions of the black knight. Gawain caught up to the Lady of the Lake as she was overwhelmed, and he skillfully employed the sheathed Excalibur to dispatch the creatures. "Your Ladyship, we must depart!" Gawain beckoned as another wave of underworld knights approached. 

Reluctantly, Nimue complied in silence. She and Gawain retreated from the evil mob. The creatures' terrible howls and vicious cries sounded throughout the forest through which they fled. "Sir Gawain," Nimue called after the knight, "where are we going?" 

"Not here!" Gawain answered directly. Nimue was dissatisfied with his answer, but he still carried Excalibur, which was hers to protect so long as it remained sheathed. 

However, the pair soon found themselves at a dead end: a stone wall that marked the steep bottom of a bluff. Gawain started to climb the wall with his spiked fists, but then he noticed Nimue could not follow. The pink hedgehog stared upward at the sheer cliff face. "You knucklehead!" she insulted. "You led us to a dead end!" 

"Fear not, Your Ladyship!" Gawain exclaimed as he let go of the cliff and glided down to her side. He stood protectively in front of the pink lady as the sounds of the pursuing mob drew closer. "I shall protect you!" 

"If you could defeat them, why did we run?" Nimue asked frustratedly. 

"This is all part of my master plan!" Gawain claimed, but Nimue doubted him. 

Then, a vortex of swirling, red light appeared beneath the duo. Nimue and Sir Gawain were sucked into the portal. The two screamed in confusion as they suddenly fell through a tunnel of spiraling light. 

Nimue regained consciousness in an unfamiliar location. She saw Sir Gawain was still lying unconscious next to her. They had fallen onto a sort of stone trail with a line painted down its middle. Nimue stood up and tried to take in her surroundings. People wearing fine garbs hustled and bustled all around them. Rectangular edifices made from metal and glass protruded from the ground like great trees that reached the skies overhead. The buildings produced such an abundance of light that the stars could not be seen in the sky, despite the fact that night had recently fallen on this strange place. 

Sir Gawain had dropped Excalibur upon falling into this locale. Nimue took the sacred sword in hand and sighed with relief. Wherever they were, Sir Lancelot and his minions had not followed. Then, a deep shrieking sound permeated Nimue's ears. The pink hedgehog turned to see a great red beast with a metal body, circular legs, and glowing eyes; the monster roared as it charged her. 

Then, the knightly echidna burst to life. Sir Gawain jumped to his feet and, with his superhuman strength, caught the beast's charge head-on. The front of the beast's body crumpled under the impact, and Gawain slid back across the ground, but he nonetheless kept it away from Nimue. "Please be careful, Your Ladyship!" 

"What is this thing?" the Lady of the Lake asked as she darted out of the path. 

"Hey! What are you doing?" someone yelled as a man exited the side of the metal beast. "This is a rental!"

"Your appreciation is not required, peasant," Sir Gawain bragged. "I am merely grateful that I was able to slay this creature before it could digest you." 

"I'm callin' the cops!" the man exclaimed. 

"Sir Gawain," Nimue called from the side of the path, "I believe that creature was his pet!" 

"Huh?" Gawain scratched his head in confusion as he eyed the red creature again. "Well, maybe I didn't slay it. Are you okay, little buddy?" 

"Get out of the road!" a second man called as he stuck his upper body out from the side of another metal beast. 

"I believe our presence is unwanted," Nimue deduced based on the increasingly frustrated crowd that began to gather. 

"As I can see!" Gawain agreed. "If you will excuse me, I must be on my way," he said to the angry man. "We shall settle this quarrel another time." 

"You stay right here until the cops arrive!" the man shouted. 

"No can do!" Gawain called back to the man as he darted away, and Nimue followed after him. 


	12. Wario's Wasino

The Mario Bros. had fun together for hours on their first day in New Donk City. Luigi and Mario had played jump rope and tried to 1-up each other while passersby kept score. Luigi felt thankful that Bowser wasn’t around causing mayhem. Seriously, it was always the same with that guy: Mr. Capture-the-Princess-and-Then-Never-Show-My-Face-Again-Until-I Come-Up-With-Another-Plan. What a fiddle! And, like a fiddle, he got played time and again by Mario... and Luigi, occasionally. It felt like it was every other Wednesday. 

However, even dark overlords like Bowser got tired of constant failure, surely. At least, that's how it seemed to Luigi; there hadn’t been any sign of Bowser in a very long time. In fact, his absence was the only reason they had the chance to take a vacation.

The Mario Bros. decided to end their evening by visiting a local casino. Mario said it was worth a shot even though the neon  _ W  _ over its entrance suggested it was branded by a certain less-than-savory individual. Inside, Luigi was playing cards with Mario and a Shy Guy. 

The Shy Guy put down his cards on the table. “Checkmate!”

“We’re playing poker,” Luigi reminded him. “That’s-a not how this works.”

The Shy Guy looked at his cards in despair. “I thought this was Go Fish.”

Mario shuffled through his cards and glanced from the Shy Guy to Luigi. The red plumber spoke quietly behind his ‘stache. “What’s-a Mario gonna do? What’s-a Mario gonna do?”

Captain Toad kicked open the door behind their table; he had a mountain of coins in tow! “I struck  _ gold _ , you guys!”

The Shy Guy peered over his hand while Mario laid down his cards. Luigi stared at the cards in silence for a moment before a devastated expression found its way to his face. Laughing triumphantly, Mario took all of Luigi’s chips. 

Captain Toad slammed all of his coins on the table with a thud, some coins spun around like a top. “Look at this motherlode! I’m glad that I came to the Wasino. That slot machine is amazing! Maybe Wario isn’t such a bad guy!”

The Shy Guy muttered, “Gullible...” under his breath.

“What was that?” asked Captain Toad, making eye contact with the masked man whose eyes he could not see.

“I was complimenting your intelligence," the Shy Guy lied. "You seem smart.”

“Thanks, I know!” the gullible Toad enthused.

Luigi stood up to leave the room while Mario observed the coins on the table. They had Wario’s face on them. Wario loved not-so-subtle branding. “I’m-a gonna go and get a drink," Luigi shared as he held his hands apart to illustrate the intended size of his beverage, "a big, big drink. Do you want me to get you anything, Mario?”

“I like sweet beverages!" Mario replied without taking his eyes off the Wario-branded coins. "Anything like that is okay with me!”

“Okie-dokie!” Luigi exited the room and found himself on a dance floor filled with blue lights, electronic music, and enthusiastic partygoers. Jimmy T., a dancer with a ridiculously large blue afro, was entertaining the crowd onstage while everyone else partied. Wario face-planted onto the stage from the ceiling and immediately began breakdancing as if nothing had happened. Luigi wasn’t surprised. He squeezed his way through the crowd until he came to a table with a punch bowl. The bowl was labeled with a paper note that read, “Sour.” This was literally the exact opposite of sweet. What kind of party had sour punch?

“Hey kid,” said a gravelly voice through the cacophony. Luigi turned toward the voice to see an elderly, disheveled Koopa in a black trench coat. “You want that really sweet stuff? I can get you the stuff.”

Luigi thought the Koopa was too sketchy to be trusted, but he was soon proven wrong when the elder revealed rows and rows of Chuckola Cola underneath his coat. Cold resonated from him. “I got a cool shell, baby. You want that hard stuff? This is the place.” He was being powered by an Ice Flower, and this is what he was using his frost powers for? Interesting use!

“Well, Mario did say he wanted something sweet, so sure!" Luigi agreed. "I’ll take two. What’s the biggest size you have?”

The Koopa reached into his shell and produced a gallon-sized glass therefrom. “I call this the Jumbo Wumbo. It’s delicious, I promise. Ten coins for two.”

“Thank you!” Luigi gave the fellow his coins in exchange for the drinks and headed back to the quieter game room. He struggled to navigate the crowd without spilling anything. 

Still onstage, Wario was dancing with Jimmy T. They were having some kind of dancing contest, and Wario was... winning? Or, he  _ was. _ The fat man in yellow suddenly stopped. He arched an eyebrow as he looked suspiciously toward the door to the game room. He took an exaggerated whiff of the air with his bulbous, pink nose. "I smell something..." 

Wario put two fingers in his mouth and whistled. Waluigi, carrying two large Bill Blasters, blasted down the wall behind Wario. “Waluigi time!”

Wario quickly urged Waluigi to follow him, and he shoved his way past the crowd to the door to the game room. “C’mon! Let’s-a go!”

“Got it!” Waluigi readied his egregious firepower and followed Wario.

Luigi felt concerned. What was happening in there? The green plumber moved a little faster through the crowd without spilling his drinks. Waluigi launched a Bullet Bill at the door, which was blown clean off its hinges. 

Luigi ran into the game room after Wario and Waluigi. Inside, he saw a pale, metrosexual swordsman with silver hair, a red cape, and white underclothes. The swordsman stood over Link, a legendary hero from another world. Luigi recognized Link from the hero's guest appearance at a recent grand prix, where the two had tied for second place (behind Mario) in go-kart racing. Now, Link was covered in bruises and cuts. The hero's blue fairy was urging him to stand up. “Come on, Link! You have to get up!”

The pale man supposedly responsible for Link’s condition faced Wario and Waluigi, and Mario armed his Hammer from seemingly nowhere. Standing fearfully in a corner, Captain Toad clenched his pickaxe closely to his chest. 

Luigi felt his heart pound. He dropped the Chuckola Cola and struck a defensive pose, hands unclenched and arms in front, as he took a few steps back. “Oh nooooo...” Several Piantas wearing suits and sunglasses trampled over Luigi. They seemed to serve as the Wasino's security. “Waaah!”

The silver-haired fiend glanced around with his sword at the ready. Mario closed in on him while Waluigi pointed his Bill Blasters at the intruder. Luigi quickly got up again and resumed his stance. Wario punched his knuckles together, and the Piantas all formed a line behind him. 

“Ay! Bozo!” one of them spat. “Who you thinks youse is?”

“Yeah! Dis is da boss’s casino," another Pianta added, "a place where people can relax, capiche? And anybody what wants to acts violent... gets da punchies!”

Another one chimed in, “You don’t want da punchies, bro!”

Link’s fairy spoke up, “You’re surrounded, Ghirahim!”

The one called Ghirahim looked around at everyone. The crowd drew closer to him by the moment. “Hm, it seems you’re right...” He smiled and put his middle finger on his thumb. “However, this quandary can easily be remedied...” Ghirahim snapped his fingers, and like that, he vanished.


	13. The Big Banana

Sonic awoke in the alley of a bustling city. Silver and Espio pulled themselves to their feet nearby. The blue speedster looked down at the Eggman he had apprehended; the scientist had sustained serious damage. Exposed machinery short-circuited as sparks flew beneath the EggBot’s fake skin, and Sonic sighed heavily. Sonic stood up and brushed some debris off himself. To his surprise, however, the area around him looked completely unharmed.

“Where are we?” Sonic asked.

“Is it Metropolis?” Silver wondered.

“No,” Shadow answered. The ultimate life-form was standing atop a nearby awning and gripping the green Chaos Emerald. “Took you long enough to wake up,” he chastised, “Eggman and his goons already escaped with that pod of theirs.”

“Do you know what’s going on?” Sonic asked his rival.

“Eggman’s machine overcharged and malfunctioned at the same time as that robot’s Chaos Blast,” Shadow recalled. “That’s all that’s left of it.” Shadow gestured to the ground. Sonic and the others looked at what remained of Neo Silver Sonic II: a steaming heap of black and silver metal and wires. “Guess it couldn’t withstand the power of its own attack in that damaged state.”

“What of the Chaos Emeralds?” Espio asked as he inspected the remains and found that they were devoid of gems.

“Gone,” Shadow reported, “this one was still here, but the other six are nowhere to be seen. Whatever sent us here must’ve scattered them.”

“No problem!” Sonic enthused. “We’ll just gather them all up. Then you and I can use Chaos Control to send Silver back to his own time!”

“I don’t remember agreeing to help you,” Shadow sneered. “I have my own problems, and I suspect I’ll need the Chaos Emeralds to solve them.”

“Then we can find them all, solve your problem, and then send Silver back to the future!” Sonic suggested with a smile.

“No thanks,” Shadow declined, “you’d only slow me down, Faker.” Then, the dark hedgehog vanished in a flash of light.

“That went well,” Silver sighed.

“He’ll warm up to it,” Sonic said confidently. “We just have to persuade him.”

“Hmm,” Espio hummed after hanging up his cell phone, “we are in the middle of a bustling city, yet I have no service. I can’t contact Vector or Tails.”

“Oh jeez, they’re probably still at the airport,” Silver realized.

“Stop, thief!” a shrill voice cried from the street beyond the alley. Responding quickly, Sonic, Silver, and Espio dashed into the street to find a purple, anthropomorphic rabbit with round eyes sprinting away with a sack over his shoulder. Silver used his psychokinesis to hurl a nearby trashcan at the bandit, who skillfully jumped over the obstacle without slowing his pace. Sonic, however, chased the thief at full speed and caught up to him in moments.

After Sonic tackled the thief to the ground, the burglar’s bag spilled open to reveal a large mushroom with ovular black eyes. “Huh?” Sonic was surprised by the item’s familiarity, and the thief managed to break the hedgehog's grip and dart into another alley when the speedster hesitated.

Silver and Espio caught up to Sonic in a moment, and they were followed by a small man wearing an adventurer's outfit and a mushroom cap with green spots. Sonic recognized this man as a Toad, but he hadn’t seen one since the Olympics. “Thanks for getting my Mushroom back!” the Toad expressed as he took the item that had fallen from the thief’s bag. “That Nabbit’s been up to no good again!”

“Can you tell us where we are?” Silver asked the green Toad.

“Huh? What kind of question is that? You’re in New Donk City, of course,” the Toad answered, “the Big Banana itself, in the Metro Kingdom.”

“I’ve never heard of it,” Silver admitted.

"I sense a disturbance," Espio reported. The two hedgehogs turned to their reptilian friend questioningly. 

"Well, let's check it out," Sonic suggested. "Lead the way, Espio!" 


	14. E(gg)xposition

"Alright, Eggman, you know the drill," said Shadow as he threatened the cornered scientist. After warping away from Sonic and the others, Shadow had tracked Eggman with eye-witness reports from the resident New Donkers, and he now had the egg-headed scientist pinned against a wall in a dark alley. Metal Sonic, Cubot, and Orbot lay damaged and inactive on the ground nearby —the result of a well-timed Chaos Blast following the ultimate life-form's ambush. "You tell me everything I want to know, or you end up sunny-side up." 

"Yes! Yes, of course, Shadow, my dearest friend!" Eggman stammered. "Why, whatever can I do for you?" 

"Where the hell are we, and why did you send us here?" Shadow demanded. 

"Well, ah, we appear to be in New Donk City in the Metro Kingdom," Eggman chuckled awkwardly, "which, uh, seems to be in another dimension."

"Keep talking," Shadow demanded.

"Yes, well, you see, I didn't exactly  _ send  _ us here. It was an..." Eggman hesitated before shrugging and smiling awkwardly, "accident?"

"You expect me to believe we  _ accidentally  _ wound up in a different dimension?" Shadow growled. 

"Here's the thing," Dr. Eggman explained. "Orbot accidentally activated the Dimension Grappler, but the whole system overloaded when Cubot tried to activate my Gizoid at the same time. Put simply, it misfired. You can think of the Dimension Grappler like a grappling hook. I was intending to fire the hook at someone in another dimension and pull them back into our own. However, imagine that instead of catching a person, the grappling hook caught a wall. What do you think would happen to the person holding the grappling hook when the hook retracted?" 

"Instead of pulling someone toward them," Shadow understood, "they'd be pulled toward the wall." 

"Exactly," Eggman concluded, "on top of that, there was that Chaos Blast that went off simultaneously. I suspect the result was some sort of trans-dimensional Chaos Control. For all we know, holes could have been torn into other dimensions as well in the crossfire. That would explain why most of the Chaos Emeralds went missing." 

"Are you telling me the Chaos Emeralds were scattered across dimensions?" Shadow interrogated. 

"I don't know!" Eggman confessed. "It's possible they flew off to other dimensions, or maybe they pulled other targets into this dimension too! Anything could have happened!" 

"In that case," Shadow emphasized as he pressed Eggman harder against the wall, "you're going to get us out of this mess. Isn't that right?" 

"Shadow, my good friend, I would love to!" Eggman laughed nervously. "Of course, the Dimension Grappler is still in our own dimension. I have the schematics memorized, so I could build a new one, but without my laboratory in Metropolis, I have no power supply..." 

"Would this work?" Shadow inquired as he revealed the green Chaos Emerald. 

"Not by itself," Eggman explained, "we'd need at least three Chaos Emeralds to power the Dimension Grappler. If you'd be so kind as to help me gather them, then I'd be more than willing to return us to our rightful place in the multiverse." 

"Fine," Shadow agreed as he dropped the scientist, "but we're not leaving until you've done something for me too." 

"What did you have in mind?" Eggman wondered. 

"You're going to make me a body," Shadow elaborated, "or rather, you're going to make  _ him  _ a body." 

Just then, Shadow's pupils turned to slits, and his expression twisted into a toothy grin. "Hello again, doctor," the ultimate life-form greeted the scientist in the voice of the deceased Saturn the Hedgehog, "it's been a while." 

"S-S-S-Saturn!" Eggman exclaimed. "How did you—"

"Let's not sweat the details, eh, doc?" Saturn chuckled. "I'm getting tired of repeating all the exposition." 

"I-I see," Eggman stuttered as he tried to regain his composure. 

"Anyway, I don't mind helping my brother fetch a few Chaos Emeralds," Saturn said with a smirk. "After all, it's what you designed me for. I'll just be holding onto them as insurance until you've finished with that new body for me." 

With that, the ultimate life-form vanished in a flash of light. 


	15. A Pink Princess

Nimue and Sir Gawain had escaped the crowd of locals —New Donkers they were overheard calling each other. "This kingdom is quite lively," Sir Gawain observed, "and, apparently, quite wealthy." The knight showed Nimue a violet gemstone. 

"Where did you get that?" Nimue demanded to know. "Did you take it from that man?" 

"No!" Sir Gawain defended. "On my honor as a knight, I would never stoop to petty thievery! I found it on that stone path. I assumed it had fallen from the belly of that metal beast." 

"Give it here," Nimue sighed as she took the gem and Excalibur from Sir Gawain. She stored the gem in her garments and strapped the sheathed sword to her back. 

"But, Your Ladyship, Excalibur..." Gawain protested. 

"You are not worthy, Sir Gawain," Nimue stated. "The sword must remain in my care until its rightful owner can be found." 

"I-I just mean that the sword is so large," Sir Gawain stammered. "Someone of your delicate frame must find it quite heavy. Perhaps you would permit me just to carry it on your behalf. I shudder to think of the effects that continued strain could have on your most gracious posture." 

"My posture will be quite alright," Nimue assured the knight with a huff. 

"But..." Sir Gawain muttered, "Excalibur... It's so cool..." 

Meanwhile, three sets of eyes peered at the duo from the inside of a dumpster. They belonged to a trio of Koopas: a Hammer Bro., a Fire Bro., and an Ice Bro. "Alright, Ice," the Hammer Bro. started, "you're new here, so as the new leader of this team, I'm going to show you the ropes." 

"Why are we hiding in the trash?" the Ice Bro. asked. 

"Please save all questions for the end of the lesson," the Hammer Bro. replied. "Now, pop quiz, why are we here?" 

"Lord Bowser received a tip that the Mario Bros. were vacationing in New Donk City," the Ice Bro. answered, "and when the Mario Bros. go on vacation..." 

"Princess Peach follows," the Hammer Bro. finished. "Now, we can't afford to make any mistakes, or else we'll end up in the Chain Chomp pits." 

"Poor Boomer..." the Fire Bro. lamented. 

"We messed up last time because we grabbed the orange princess," the Hammer Bro. recalled, "but do you see them over there? Here's your second question, Ice: what color is that princess?" 

"She's pink, Mr. Hammer," the Ice Bro. observed. 

"Exactly!" the Hammer Bro. affirmed. "And what color is Princess Peach?" 

"Pink?" the Ice Bro. guessed. 

"You catch on quick, Ice!" the Hammer Bro. complimented. "Now, Fire, tell the newbie what we're supposed to do when we find the  _ pink  _ Princess Peach. 

"We kill her!" the Fire Bro. shouted before arming a ball of fire in his hands and trying to jump out of the dumpster. The Hammer Bro. grabbed him and yanked him back down into the heap of trash. The pink princess and armored echidna eyed the commotion coming from the dumpster for a moment before shrugging and continuing on their way. 

"No, you maniac!" the Hammer Bro. corrected as he covered the Fire Bro.'s beaked mouth to muffle his objections. "We  _ kidnap  _ her!" 

"But, Mr. Hammer," the Ice Bro. started, "there are so many witnesses." He glanced out from the dumpster again and observed all of the New Donkers who were going about their business in the bustling streets of the Big Banana. 

"Patience, Ice," the Hammer Bro. advised, "all we have to do is wait for an opportunity." 

" _ Then  _ we kill her," the Fire Bro. repeated. 

The Hammer Bro. sighed into his hands and corrected, "Then we  _ kidnap  _ her." 

"What about her bodyguard?" the Ice Bro. wondered as his attention turned to the armored echidna walking next to the princess. 

"Please," the Hammer Bro. scoffed, "aside from Mario and Green 'Stache, all of Princess Peach's guards are pushovers. Does that look like Mario or Green 'Stache to you?" 

"Well, he is red like Mario," the Ice Bro. noticed. 

"Don't be stupid," the Hammer Bro. laughed. "Only an idiot would mistake someone for a celebrity just because they had the same color scheme." 

"Yeah," the Ice Bro. agreed, "I guess you're right." 

"How long do we have to keep waiting?" the Fire Bro. asked impatiently. 

"We'll know when the time is right," the Hammer Bro. assured his companion. 

Just then, the entire city went dark. New Donkers shouted in panic before rushing indoors. The armored echidna and pink princess stopped in their tracks and looked around in confusion. "My time has come!" the Fire Bro. shouted gleefully before leaping out of the dumpster at the duo. The Hammer Bro. and Ice Bro. followed quickly behind him. 


	16. Lights Out

The lights were shut to black. All that remained was darkness, entwined with panicked, confused cries. The Piantas were trying to keep the crowd organized. They were drowned out by the fear. Luigi hid his eyes underneath his hat. He didn’t know or  _ want  _ to know what was happening in the outside world around him. He heard a door burst open, but he didn't know which one. Everything was happening too fast. Frantic footsteps and twisted howls stampeded towards the newly-opened door. Slowly the sounds grew quieter. The footsteps became more and more distant. Luigi uncovered his eyes.

Soon only Wario was making a racket. Mario was trying to feed a Mushroom to Link to heal his wounds. Wario seemed aggravated that all of his valuable customers had suddenly disappeared in a panic. No customers meant no money, and this man had priorities! Captain Toad looked up at the inactive light bulbs. Waluigi looked up as well. Captain Toad was the first of them to state the obvious. “What happened to the power?”

Mario maintained his composure while Wario ran outside the game room, but he only found trashed slot machines everywhere and coins scattered across the red carpet floor. Wario growled; he rushed to reclaim every last coin. Mario, once Link had sighed with relief to indicate his wellbeing, became more concerned with Captain Toad’s observation. “Well, would you look at that?”

Link slowly rose to his feet and leaned on the wall for support as he panted. 

“You go on without us,” Link's fairy said. “He’s healed, but he needs a second to catch his breath.”

Mario nodded in a silent affirmation. He walked outside the room and headed to the large double doors that were the entrance and exit to the Wasino. After stepping outside, Mario looked around at the other buildings around theirs. Every single building in the city was dark. No power remained here. His eyes widened. “Luigi!”

Luigi peeked his head out from the corner of the double doors. “What? Is everything okay?”

“The city is dark!”

Waluigi peeked his head over Luigi’s. “Wah?”

Luigi looked for a single spot of light: anything to prove their current observation wrong. In his search, he did not find evidence to the contrary, but he  _ did  _ see a woman wearing a red dress rushing in their direction. “Oh? Pauline?”

“Huh? Pauline?” Mario echoed. He looked in the direction of his younger sibling’s gaze, and, sure enough, he saw her. “Pauline! Good eye, Luigi!”

Waluigi saw her too. He squinted at her for a moment. He grinned. Quietly, he slunk away into the depths of the dark, nearly-abandoned casino. 

Pauline approached them. She was clearly out of breath. “Mario! Our security! We... found something! And we had to tell you!”

“Bowser!" Mario assumed. "He’s at it aga-”

“Actually,” Pauline corrected between breaths, “it was... different. We saw a large Boo with some... kind of crown. He was carrying the Power Moon that charges the city. I heard that you were visiting our city’s new casino, so I ran here as fast I could.”

Captain Toad walked in on the conversation. “What did I miss?”

“King Boo!” Luigi screamed. “Oh no! Not him again! Why does  _ he  _ have the Power Moon?”

“Well that’s significant information,” the Toad remarked. “King Boo, huh! No worries! We have the Mario Bros. here. Surely there’s nothing that they can’t handle by themselves!”

Pauline shook her head, “It’s not just him we saw. He had a whole horde of Boos. It looked like an army! They were all chanting around some kind of scepter with a stash of other Power Moons surrounding it. We’re not sure what they’re doing, but it can’t be good if he’d go out of his way to collect so many.”

Captain Toad looked at Mario. “I’m going to be Frank, Mario, and Frank’s a nice guy. You’re screwed.” He took off his backpack and dug around in its contents. The Toad retrieved the Poltergust 3000, Luigi's old Gadd-branded ghost-catching contraption that had apparently been rebuilt. 

“Uh,” Luigi stammered, “tell me again why you have this. It was broken by Dark Luigi, right? So..." 

"The professor asked me to get the pieces of it from Boo Woods," Captain Toad explained. "He needed it as a reference to build the Poltergust 5000. Anyway, once he finished the 5000, he fixed up the old 3000 and gave it to me for my trouble. 'You want a nice, sparkly Poltergust 3000, dont'cha?' he said. Anyway, I figure you'll need it to fight King Boo." 

Luigi groaned unwillingly. He would be fighting an ancient, undead king with outdated technology that had been haphazardly rebuilt as an afterthought. “'Trust the old man,' she says” he muttered to himself. “'It’ll be fun...' she says.”

Mario held his chin as his eyes searched the dark sky, which seemed to hold answers to his inner puzzles. “Hmm... Boos are weak against the light. We don’t have any of that since all the power is out. Where are we going to get anything to fight them off?”

“Hey! Listen!” came a familiar call. The Mario Bros. both reacted accordingly and saw Link’s fairy, followed by the man himself. Link gripped onto the Master Sword's hilt; a confident smirk spread across his face. “I think we have someone who can fight with you!” the fairy chimed in again. “Don’t worry. We heard everything. Boos are ghosts, right? You need to fight an army of Boos and defeat King Boo all in one go! Lucky for you, Link has the Blade of Evil's Bane. I'm sure we can use it to fend off the Boos." 

Luigi certainly felt reassured by that. Now that they had the Link on their side, they had some kind of a chance. But, how did the hero of legend even get here all the way from Hyrule so suddenly? Then there was that man...  _ Ghirahim was his name? How did he arrive? _

“You’ll be able to find the Boos on the roof of New Donk City Hall,” noted Pauline, pointing to the skyscraper to clarify. It loomed above them in the dark city sky, littered with gray clouds. “Whatever they’re up to, put a stop to them!”

Mario continued to ponder the situation. This time his eyes were closed. “Link has the Master Sword. Luigi has the Poltergust. King Boo has a magic scepter..." Mario opened his eyes once more. "I've got it!"

* * *

Mario, Link, and Luigi ran towards the skyscraper. Mario burst its doors open with a mighty kick. Glancing from side to side, he inspected the area. It was barren of enemies: good. It was just the entryway of a regular city hall. The red plumber turned to face his brother and his friend. “Okay! You know what to do. Fight them off and give me the signal, Luigi! Mario’s-a gonna fix this in a jiffy!”

“Leave it to us!” the fairy chimed. “Link can handle anything!”

Luigi nodded and clenched the Poltergust close to him. “Got it! Let’s-a go!”

The truth, however, was that Luigi was horrified. He always had to play the part of the hero. It was always a wacky adventure with Mario around. Maybe it just ran in his genes. He only came here for a vacation, not...  _ this _ . The green plumber and Link walked towards the staircase, but Luigi was a bit more hesitant than Link. Mario exited the building. Luigi heard his brother's shoes clank on the metal of the fire escape as Mario presumably used it to scale the skyscraper from the outside. 

The two green-hatted friends were about to venture up the staircase. “Guys!” the fairy said. “Wait!” They both stopped and looked at Link’s companion. “There’s an elevator right next to the stairs.”

Link observed that, next to the staircase, there was indeed an elevator. He just had such a one-track mind that he hadn't noticed originally. Luigi scratched his nose. “Huh, well, let’s use that then!”

Luigi was more than eager to take the elevator. He walked over, pressed the elevator's adjacent button to open its doors, and then stepped inside. Looking to his friend expectantly, Luigi pressed another button within the elevator to head to the roof. Link exchanged a glance with his fairy before turning to Luigi. He seemed unsure.

“It’s okay, Link. It’s not a bad idea.” The elevator door closed. This wasn’t part of the plan. There didn’t seem to be a button that opened the doors again, either. What kind of elevator didn’t have that? The elevator rose. “Uh-oh, well, I hope he’ll meet me there.”

Soothing music began to play in the background: a delightful acoustic guitar. This reminded Luigi of being on hold during a phone call. He tapped his foot and rubbed the handle of the Poltergust nervously. The isolated plumber shifted from side to side. Ten seconds passed. The soothing music contorted into static. A voice played over the intercom. It was slow, crackly, and low: “You‘re pathetic, Green ‘Stache.”

A laugh played over the intercom. The unlit elevator began to glow with ghostly light. The lift lurched to a halt. Luigi hesitated for a long moment before stammering, "H-Hello?" The elevator fell. Luigi screamed. He covered his head and helplessly braced himself for the inevitable crash. The elevator stopped. Luigi’s stomach jerked. Then, the elevator rose again. It rose faster. Faster, faster, faster, yet faster still... The ghostly lights flickered angrily as the horrific cackling from before resonated throughout the lift. The laughter no longer emanated from the intercom. It was everywhere. Luigi fell to the ground. He couldn't support himself against the elevator's ascent. The lift crashed against something hard, and Luigi heard a snap. After a moment, he was no longer going up. The elevator reached the zenith of its ascent before gravity dragged it back downard. The lift crashed. Its doors fell from their hinges.

Luigi, miraculously unharmed but trembling uncontrollably, shot to his feet. Holding onto the Poltergust 3000, Luigi gazed out of the elevator, which had crash-landed on the roof of New Donk City Hall. Link single-handedly faced down a swarm of Boos, circling around him in a taunting dance. King Boo, indifferent to the hero's battle, approached Luigi. “Hello, old friend! I dearly missed you!”

Luigi tried not to scream. He couldn’t scream in the face of his archenemy. He looked around the rooftop in search of a magic scepter. Thankfully, he found it within moments. It was atop a mountainous pile of Power Moons. The rod protruded upward from the peak of the mound and glowed with power. Luigi fled from the broken elevator and pointed his contraption at King Boo. Driven by adrenaline and maddening panic, he dared to focus only on his nemesis.

“Oh?” chuckled King Boo, looking at Luigi’s device. “What’s this? Did you really think that this little toy would be enough to defeat the King of Boos? Oh, Luigi... Sweet, naive, little Luigi... I cannot be stopped with a mere appliance used to clean mothers' basements! I am King Boo!”

Luigi heard Link’s warcry. “T’yah!”

The green plumber glanced past his foe, and he saw Link valiantly battling the assemblage of Boos on the other side of the rooftop. His sword was effective as they planned! The ghosts scattered to flee from the sacred blade, and they swerved around it. One of the Boos quickly lunged forwards to headbutt the hero. Link rolled to his left into the path of another Boo, which he swiftly cut down. It growled angrily before vanishing in a puff of white smoke. 

The other Boos around Link only grew more vicious, however, and their assaults grew more and more aggressive. One rushed Link. He dodged again, but was headbutted by another before he had time to react. He skidded on his feet, only for a Boo to burst upward through the floor and smack him yet again.

Things weren’t going well. This wasn’t part of the plan, either. Luigi tried to run past King Boo to assist Link, but King Boo wouldn’t allow it. “No-no-no, little Luigi, you’re all mine.” Luigi readied his Poltergust and activated the pre-installed flashlight; the light shone on King Boo. The evil king hissed and hid his eyes away from the light. Luigi activated the suction mechanism next. King Boo growled, and he punched Luigi in the gut. The attack knocked Luigi across the rooftop like a stone to water. “What a hideous sight, so disgusting...”

To Luigi, Link seemed unable to keep up against the constant assault of the Boos.  _ Where is Mario? _

The Boos loomed over Link, and their king slowly approached Luigi. “For far too long,” the ghastly monarch began, “we have been prisoners of the light. For far too long, other day-dwellers have had the pleasure of enjoying the world however they so please, while we are left to rot. Living in confined spaces is no way to live at all. We deserve freedom!”

The other Boos cheered. Some celebrated by trying to ram into Link, who evaded the attacks and countered with his sacred blade to fend off others in the horde. 

“I will free my people by extinguishing the light and snuffing out the sun. With all these Power Moons to power that scepter, we can freeze the sun! Once the sun is a mere icicle floating in space, the entire planet will become a frozen Boo paradise!”

Staggering, Luigi tried to get to his feet. This was bad; this was very bad. He couldn’t give Mario any signal to come out yet, not when the situation was this dire. If Mario tried to spring his plan into action, he would just be beaten to a pulp! There was no turning this around, not without...

Without warning, a blast of light illuminated the darkness from above. All of King Boo’s minions shielded their eyes; some howled in despair and pain. “What!” the king exclaimed. “What is... this! Ack!” He, too, shielded his eyes.

Blaze the Cat, a lavender cat surrounded by heavenly flame, descended from the heavens like a divine messenger of the end times. “It’s over,” she said, completely composed.

While all of the Boos were in anguish from the light resonating from Blaze’s nigh-celestial form, Mario jumped onto the rooftop from the side of the building and rushed to the scepter. Some of the Boos tried to approach him, but they were obviously hindered by the ray of light. Spinning himself three-hundred and sixty degrees with his sword in hand, Link cut down a cluster of weakened Boos around him before moving to intercept the meddlesome Boos.

“Oh no you don’t!” King Boo said stubbornly, only to be blasted by Blaze’s flame. Through the fire, Luigi sprung into action and turned on the Poltergust 3000 once again. Now that King Boo was stunned by the light from Blaze's flames, Luigi was attempting to suck him into the ghost-catching device. The evil spirit hissed angrily as he tried to escape. Despite noticeably struggling, Luigi was holding him steady; his feet occasionally slid across the rooftop while King Boo scrambled against the suction of the Poltergust.

Mario grabbed the magically enchanted scepter and harnessed its power. The Power Moons all glowed around it. “Oh yeah! Mario time!”

King Boo roared in defiance as he barely managed to knock away Luigi again. Blaze shot another blast of fire at him mercilessly, but the king flew out of the way. He noticed Mario, aglow with frosty magic. “No! That’s—!”

Link, with a running start, jumped to King Boo’s height and slashed his glowing blade across the mighty ghost’s face. Screeching in pain, King Boo recoiled and covered his now-injured visage. The red plumber’s hand began to freeze, and the frost climbed his arm.

Glaring through his hands, King Boo shouted, “That was only meant to be used by me! Your fleshy form can’t handle its power!”

The ghastly monarch zoomed towards Mario, but he was quickly intercepted by Blaze yet again. Both of her hands were cindering, and her claws were aglow with heat. “Fire Claw!” She unleashed a volley of scratches, giant claw marks written in flame piercing the air, knocking King Boo to the earth. 

Mario jumped between King Boo and Blaze and unleashed an icy ray from the scepter. The beam suspended Mario in midair as King Boo slowly began to freeze solid. “This isn’t the last you’ll hear from me, Mario Bros.! I’ll be back! I’ll—” His mouth was frozen. Soon, the ice spread across the rest of his form.

Luigi gawked in amazement at Mario’s bravery.

Suddenly, Waluigi appeared from behind the mound of Power Moons. “Wah!” Waluigi bellowed. “It’s Waluigi time!”

Mario fell to the ground with a metallic thud.  _ Why did that sound strange? _ Luigi looked at Mario’s body, only to find that it had been frozen solid. In fact, he wasn't just frozen. His body was made entirely of ice. Mario's heroic face was stuck in place as though he had become an artwork locked in time. “Mario!”

Waluigi retrieved a small bag from his pocket. The bag expanded to many times larger than its original size within a second. “Wahahahah!” He shoveled the pile of Power Moons in the bag. “Waluigi number one, baby!”

Link aimed his bow and arrow, and he fired at Waluigi. Letting out a shriek, the lanky man ducked. Waluigi shot back up again and began to retreat with the Power Moons. 

“Fire Boost!” Blaze coated herself with fire, and launched herself at Waluigi like a missile. Without hesitation, the purple thief jumped off the building’s roof to barely dodge Blaze’s attack. Link fired his Clawshot at Waluigi’s bag. The device tore through the sack, but alas, it only latched onto a single Power Moon. The hero’s Clawshot retracted and pulled this Power Moon back to Link. Waluigi had stolen the rest.

Waluigi landed in a large, purple convertible and honked its horn mockingly. “Hahah! Losers!” He planted his foot on the gas, and the tires squealed in elation. Leaving a cloud of dust and exhaust fumes in its wake, the vehicle bolted down the dark street with absurd speeds.

While Link ran to the edge of the roof to see where the thief had gone, Luigi fell down and stared at Mario’s frozen body. This wasn’t normal ice. One Power Moon could provide the entirety of New Donk city with nigh-limitless power. A whole pile of them was supposed to freeze the sun, let alone a single man. Mario could not thaw from this. 


	17. What Is This, a Crossover Episode?

"It's coming from up there!" Espio reported as he pointed toward the peak of a skyscraper at the center of the city. The city had lost power just moments after the reptilian ninja had sensed something was amiss. Most of the resident New Donkers had taken shelter indoors as the city went black. 

Sonic stared at the height of the building for a moment. Espio noticed a purple convertible screech down the road nearby. Then, a pulse of cyan energy exploded from the top of the building. The blast was several blocks wide, and the air suddenly grew cold. "Hang on!" Sonic warned as he gripped Silver's and Espio's wrists. Then, pulling his friends alongside him, the blue speedster dashed up the side of the building. 

After a few moments, Sonic reached the building's peak. At the height of the skyscraper, he found a group of familiar faces: Blaze the Cat, a pyrokinetic cat from another dimension, was crossing her arms and staring over the edge of the roof alongside a green-clad man wielding a broadsword. Closer to the center of the roof was another green-clad man, but this one Sonic recognized from the Olympics. He was Luigi, the younger brother of Mario, hero of the Mushroom Kingdom. The green-clad Olympian was wearing a strange vacuum cleaner on his back and clutching an ice sculpture of his older brother in distress. Meanwhile, icy statues of circular ghosts, one of which was wearing a large crown, were scattered across the rooftop. 

"This place just keeps getting weirder," Sonic observed. 

"We've got company," Blaze noticed as she and the green swordsman turned their attention to Sonic and friends. 

"Blaze?" Silver noticed the lavender cat. 

"You got pulled here too, huh, Silver?" the feline guessed as she approached the group. 

"Do you know how we ended up in this city?" Espio wondered. 

"No clue," Blaze admitted, "one second, I was banishing Eggman Nega back to the Chaotic Inferno Zone, and the next, I got sucked through a wormhole and ended up here. Then the lights went out, and I sensed a huge amount of power being collected here, so I came running." 

"What happened here?" Silver asked. 

"That Boo was trying to freeze the sun," Blaze explained as she gestured to the frozen Boo wearing a crown, "using a magic scepter and a bunch of lunar items. Mario took the scepter and froze the Boo and his minions instead, but it looks like it froze him too." 

"On top of that," Luigi sulked, "Waluigi showed up and stole all the Power Moons." The green Olympian had apparently been listening in on their conversation as he stared at his frozen brother. 

"I take it this is related to the city's loss of power," Espio surmised. 

"From what I heard from the locals, one of those Power Moons was powering the city," Blaze elaborated, "but since that Waluigi ran off with them all..." 

"He didn't get  _ all  _ of the Power Moons!" a small fairy flitting next to the green-clad swordsman cheered. The swordsman smiled and held up a glowing, brown moon. "This should at least get power back to the city!" 

"I don't think we've met!" Sonic greeted the swordsman and his fairy. "Sonic's the name. Speed's my game!" 

"I'm Proxi," the fairy introduced herself, "and this is Link. Don't worry about him. He doesn't talk much. We got pulled into this dimension from the land of Hyrule while we were fighting the Demon Lord."

"How do you know the Mario Bros.?" Sonic asked.

"Kart racing," Proxi answered plainly.

"I see," Espio said.

"Well, the Power Moon gets the city's power back, but what are we going to do with all these Boos?" Blaze wondered aloud.

"Leave that to me!" Luigi cheered. The green Olympian suddenly regained his spirit as he spun the nozzle of his fancy vacuum cleaner for show. Then, one by one, he sucked all of the frozen Boos, including their king, into the machine. Sonic didn't bother to question how they all fit in there. "Hmm, this won't hold them forever," Luigi thought aloud. "If only we had E. Gadd..."

"Ho-ho-ho! Did someone call?" an elderly voice chuckled. On cue, a strange old man drove onto the roof of the skyscraper in a red go-kart styled like a vacuum cleaner. The kart's tires were horizontal and resonated a blue energy for a moment before they returned to a normal position once the kart was atop the roof.

"E. Gadd!" Luigi exclaimed. "What are you doing here?" 

"I detected a dimensional distortion and thought the ghosts might be up to something," the scientist explained, "and it looks like I was right!" 

"Professor!" Luigi cried. "Can you unfreeze Mario?" 

"Hmm, you younguns sure are spritely," he noticed as he looked around at the odd assortment of faces. "Please explain from the top." 

Luigi took a minute to tell the professor the whole story. Sonic yawned with boredom at the repetition of the long explanation. Espio and Link waited patiently in silence while Silver and Blaze stepped away from the group to catch up with each other. 

"What a load of hullabaloo," E. Gadd sighed as he took in all the information. "Mario has been frozen by the magic of the Boos, who are stuck in that old Poltergust. Waluigi made off with the Boos' haul of Power Moons, and most of you are from another dimension." 

"That about sums it up," Sonic agreed. 

"Well, you can leave the city's power and the Boos to me," E. Gadd offered as he took the Power Moon from Link. Then, the nozzle of his vacuum-style go-kart connected to the nozzle of Luigi's Poltergust 3000. The professor's go-kart seemed to suck something, presumably the frozen Boos, out of the Poltergust. "I'll get the Power Moon to Mayor Pauline, and I can put these Boos back in their paintings. I might also be able to invent up something to get you lads and lasses back to your own dimensions, but I'll need quite a lot of power. Incidentally, those Power Moons Waluigi stole would be perfect. I suggest you get them back from him. That hooligan can't be up to any good with them, anyway." 

"What about the others?" Blaze wondered. "If Link and I were pulled into this dimension, others could have been too." 

"Mmm, yes, I suppose we'll have to get them home too," E. Gadd pondered aloud. "Well, once you have the Power Moons, come find me in New Donk City Hall. That's this building for those of you who are visiting. In the meantime, you can use this to find Waluigi." E. Gadd gave Luigi a handheld gadget shaped like a gaming system with an antenna poking out of it. "It's the Scannertron 2000," the scientist explained as he pressed a button, and the device scanned the Power Moon that Link had given him. "It picks up on items you scan with it. I've attuned it to Power Moons, so it should lead you straight to Waluigi." Then, the nozzle on his vacuum-shaped kart extended forward and sucked up the frozen Mario, scepter and all. With that, the eccentric elder sped off the side of the skyscraper, with the Power Moon in hand. 

"He's... nice..." Proxi attempted a compliment. 

"He never said what he was going to do about Mario," Silver realized. 

"I'm-a going after Waluigi," Luigi declared. "The Power Moons froze Mario, and I'll bet E. Gadd can use them to unfreeze him!" 

"We're with you!" Proxi declared on Link's behalf. 

"Count me in!" Sonic agreed. "I'm always down to kick some bad guy butt!" 

"I'm going to look for other stragglers," Blaze offered. "Link and I have met some people in this dimension before, but the others may not be so lucky. They might need help." 

"I'll go with you," Silver offered. "It looks like these three have that moon-burglar covered." 

"Indeed," Espio agreed, "I believe I would be better suited to tracking down others." 

With that, the group split up into two teams. Sonic and Link tagged along with Luigi as he took the stairs down the height of New Donk City Hall while Silver and Espio followed Blaze over the side of the building. Silver and Blaze could use their powers to fly, and Espio's ninjutsu allowed him to skillfully navigate the city's rooftops. 

Sonic and Link continued to follow Luigi once they reached the base of the skyscraper. They navigated the city's winding streets until they came to a museum, which was surprisingly still open despite the late hour and the power outage. Luigi paid for their entry using some gold coins before leading them to a painting. To the green hero's noticeable chagrin, the portrait depicted his archrival, Waluigi, who was smirking and holding a Bob-omb in his hand. "Let's-a go!" Luigi declared before jumping into the painting. To Sonic's and Link's surprise, Luigi was sucked into the painting, which rippled like water in a puddle as it absorbed the green plumber. 

"Well," Sonic said, "no use standing here." Then, the blue hedgehog and heroic swordsman jumped into the painting in turn. 


	18. Fire Hazard

The ultimate life-form warped atop a building overlooking a spectacle within the city. An orange, draconic creature, about twice Shadow's height, was flying rampant down a city block and breathing fire to drive away any nearby New Donkers. The locals were already frantic because the city was still dark from the widespread power outage, and the fire-breathing monster was causing nothing short of a panic. 

Nearby, a pair of small people,  _ Toads  _ if Shadow remembered correctly, were attempting to protect the citizens from the fiery reptile. One of the Toads, who had blue spots on his cap, wall-jumped off a nearby building to reach the monster's height and stomp on its head. The blow sent the monster crashing to the ground, but it turned toward the blue Toad and exhaled a wave of fire at the descending Toad. The Flamethrower attack set the Toad's pants ablaze, and the Toad started running around screaming as soon as he landed. “But I’m not a liar!” he pleaded. 

The other Toad, one with yellow spots on his hat, absorbed the power from a blue flower and changed color. His white cap with yellow spots changed to yellow with cyan spots, and his pants and vest changed to an icy blue to match. Yellow Toad then fired a bolt of ice at the fiery monster, who roared viciously and dispelled the ice ball with another Flamethrower before charging at the Toad. The monster wrapped itself in flames and corkscrew-tackled the Toad headon. Ice Yellow Toad was sent flying backward and crashed into a nearby building before reverting to his original color scheme and collapsing onto the ground. 

"There it is," the ultimate life-form noticed in Saturn's voice as he eyed the monster's small, clawed hand, in which it held the yellow Chaos Emerald. "This should be fun." 

Shadow seized control of his body from his so-called brother. "I let you take control because you can sense the Chaos Emeralds from far away," Shadow reminded the voice in his head, "but I'll take it from here." 

Using Chaos Control with the green Chaos Emerald in hand, Shadow warped just above the fiery monster as it flapped its wings to return to the air, and he kicked the dragon back down to the ground before landing on the road nearby. The monster pulled itself to its feet and roared at Shadow. "Char!"

"Hand over the emerald," Shadow demanded as he pointed to the yellow Chaos Emerald in the monster's grip, but the Fire-type reptile didn't seem to understand. "Then I guess I'll have to take it." The dragon stomped forward toward the black hedgehog, who backflipped to evade a low swipe from the monster's flaming tail. "Chaos Spear!" Shadow cried as he threw a bolt of energy down at the monster before landing. 

"Char!" the monster cried as the bolt struck it. Electrical energy surged through the dragon and seemed to paralyze it. Then, Shadow curled into a ball and rolled forward into his paralzyed opponent. After striking the beast's stomach, Shadow bounced backward and uncurled himself to land on his feet. 

Still apparently damaged from its fight with the Toads, the fiery dragon fell to the ground. "Thank you, kind stranger!" Blue Toad exclaimed as he and Yellow Toad approached Shadow. 

"I didn't come to help you," Shadow scoffed back. "I've already gotten what I wanted." The ultimate life-form marveled at the yellow Chaos Emerald, which he had taken from the monster while striking it with his last attack. Then, the ultimate life-form vanished in a flash of light. 

"What's up with him?" Yellow Toad asked his blue friend, who only shrugged in response. Then, to the Toads' shared horror, the fiery monster slowly began to return to its feet. "Uh-oh..." 

Meanwhile, Shadow stood atop another building in the dark city. "Two down," he mused as he looked at the green and yellow Chaos Emeralds, "Saturn, take us to the next one." 

"No problem," the ultimate life-form agreed in Saturn's voice as his pupils suddenly turned to slits, "I can sense all seven of them in this city. At this rate, gathering them will be a cinch." 

Meanwhile, Dr. Eggman typed away on a red keyboard on a desk in a hotel room. With the city's electricity gone, he had hardwired all of his electronics to Cubot to siphon the yellow henchman's power supply. For lack of a genuine laboratory, he was using Orbot's eyes like a projector to display the Dimension Grappler's blueprints, which he had reconstructed from memory. "How does he expect me to clone a new body for Saturn under these conditions?" the mad scientist complained. "I have no test tubes, no samples, not even my grandfather's journal." 

One of his EggBots, meanwhile, was repairing the damage that Shadow had incurred onto Metal Sonic. "Then what'd ya agree to help him fer?" Cubot asked. 

"Without my laboratory, I'll need the Chaos Emeralds to power the new Dimension Grappler," Dr. Eggman explained. "If I can return to my original dimension, I'll leave Shadow and, more importantly, that meddlesome Sonic stranded here in New Donk City. Then, no one will be left to stop me from taking over the world!" 

"Sir," Orbot interjected, "Shadow said he would keep the Chaos Emeralds for himself until we could help him. How do you plan to take them from him?" 

"We still have our ace in the hole," Dr. Eggman reminded his red henchman as he eyed the other EggBot, who was working on the pod containing the inactive Gizoid. 


	19. Mistaken Identity

"That'll teach you petty criminals a lesson!" Sir Gawain decreed as he brushed his hands off. The three Koopas who had attacked Nimue and him once the city had gone dark were now lying unconscious on the side of the stone path.

"Did thou not go a bit overboard?" Nimue asked the knight with a sigh. 

"They started it!" Sir Gawain defended his actions.

"I should've known Sonic's groupies would be around here," a voice interjected. 

Nimue and Sir Gawain turned to face a black hedgehog that had suddenly appeared with them in the dark, empty street. "Lancelot!" Nimue called as she recognized him. 

"So, you did follow us," Sir Gawain deduced as he clenched his fists. 

"Lancelot?" the black hedgehog repeated the name curiously. "Who's that?" 

"Did the journey perhaps erase his memory?" Nimue asked her knightly companion, who only shrugged in reply.

"My memory's fine, Amy," the black hedgehog retorted. "You're the one who seems confused." 

"Amy?" the pink hedgehog echoed. "I'm Nimue, the Lady of the Lake. Don't you remember?" 

"This must be some kind of mistake," the black hedgehog sighed. "Listen up. I'm Shadow the Hedgehog, the ultimate life-form, and you have something that I need." 

"Whatever thou callest thyself, thou shan't lay a finger on Excalibur!" Sir Gawain asserted with a swipe of his fist for emphasis. 

"I don't care about that," Shadow replied. "I'm here for the Chaos Emerald. Hand it over." 

"And if we refuse?" Sir Gawain objected. 

"So, you do have it," Shadow deduced. "That makes this simple." The ultimate life-form suddenly vanished and reappeared behind the knightly echidna. 

The knight's reflexes prevailed as he ducked under a sideways chop from the black hedgehog, and he retaliated with a superpowered uppercut. Shadow stepped backward to dodge the blow, and he continued to backpedal to casually dodge a barrage of punches from the echidna. "Not bad," Shadow acknowledged, "you're about as good as the other knucklehead." 

"Have at thee!" Gawain shouted as he punched the ground and caused a tremor that was meant to throw Shadow off balance. However, the ultimate life-form merely hovered unfazed where he stood, held just above the ground by his hover shoes. 

"Nice try," he complimented as he leered at the echidna, "but that won't work." 

"But it got your attention," Sir Gawain acknowledged. 

Just then, Nimue leapt at Shadow from behind. "Take this!" Gripping Excalibur in both hands, the Lady of the Lake swung the sheathed sword down at the ultimate life-form. Just before her attack connected, however, Shadow vanished in a flash of light. He was now standing just behind Nimue, but his sudden teleportation had startled both of his foes. 

As soon as he reappeared, the black hedgehog's eyes turned to slits, and his mouth twisted into a sadistic grin. "Chaos Shockwave!" he shouted in a different voice, and a red aura expanded from his body to knock back both Nimue and Gawain. 

"Argh!" Sir Gawain cried in pain as he and the Lady of the Lake tumbled down the street. Nimue used Excalibur to prop herself up as she and the knightly echidna pulled themselves to their feet. 

"My, my, you must've had him more on edge than you realized if he slipped up enough to let me out," the black hedgehog said in this new voice. "I guess I should thank you, but unfortunately, all I have to give you..." The ultimate life-form suddenly vanished again and reappeared between his wounded opponents. "...is defeat." With both his hands, the black hedgehog struck Nimue and Sir Gawain. The two were sent tumbling across the ground again under the ultimate life-form's superhuman strength. The black-hedgehog skated after Sir Gawain as the knight crashed into a nearby building. Then, he grabbed the knight by his neck, and in another flash of light, he teleported to the top of that same building and held Gawain suspended over its edge. "I wonder how much damage your body has to take before you lose your ability to glide..." the vicious hedgehog mused. 

"Unhand me, you fiend!" Gawain managed to demand despite struggling to breathe. 

"If you insist..." the dark hedgehog replied, and he prepared to drop the knightly echidna. 

"Hold it!" Nimue called. "You don't have to do this!" 

"Hmm?" the black hedgehog hummed as he looked down at the noble lady. 

"This is what you want, is it not?" The Lady of the Lake produced the violet gemstone she had retrieved from Sir Gawain. "We do not even know what it is. You appear to us as an old enemy, but clearly you are someone else entirely. We have no reason to quarrel with you." 

"Hmph, now that's more like it," the black hedgehog said with a smile. Then, he teleported to Nimue's side, with Sir Gawain in hand, and dropped the knightly echidna. "If you please," he said as he extended a hand. 

Nimue gave him the violet gemstone, the Chaos Emerald as he had called it, and she helped Sir Gawain to his feet. "You will pay for this humiliation," Sir Gawain vowed as he gasped for air. 

"We'll see," the black hedgehog retaliated, and then he warped away. 


	20. Waluigi Time

Luigi, Sonic, and Link all looked around inside the magical painting through which they’d been transported. What lay before the three heroes was a world of bizarre, unadulterated madness. Tall, outrageous buildings coated in purple and golden neon signs yelled at their eyes. The entrance of an unnecessarily tall building that put the others to shame lay before them. A large animatronic of Waluigi held a sign over the entrance. The sign read, “WaluigiWare, Inc.,” and the animatronic’s eyes methodically shifted from left to right as it opened and closed its mouth. The whole building was a gaudy purple with golden outlines to match the signs around it. Several other wooden signs, which were far less extravagant, surrounded the entrance. They’d been slathered with red spray paint depicting petty, nonsensical threats like ‘Enter if you wah!’ or ‘Be-wah! Waluigi!’ or just ‘Waaaaah!’

Luigi gazed in awe of the entrance. “So this is what he’s-a using all the Power Moons for...”

Proxi looked at all the lights. “This place is fancy, but it reeks of...” she paused for a second, humming in thought, “...selfishness? Arrogance? That may be the word for it.”

Jumping up and down while shaking out his wrists, Sonic grinned. “Oh, yeah! I’ve been to places like this! This will be a piece of cake!” Without waiting for anyone else to follow him, he zoomed to the large entrance.

Luigi followed after him. Sonic really shouldn’t be going off on his own in a place like this! Who knows what sorts of tricks Waluigi had in store for them? Especially with all of the Power Moons at his disposal!

Link simply walked calmly after the two of them as he scratched the back of his head. He wasn’t at all in his element here.

When Sonic and Luigi opened the doors, they were greeted with yet more flashing lights that self-advertised Waluigi’s greatness in a poorly-designed arcade room. The arcade machines covered either sides of the walls. Pressure plates, which had holes embedded in them by design, stood protectively in front of a spiked, metal door, above which another animatronic of Waluigi was embedded into the wall. Fire spewed from its nostrils. “Wah!” it declared on command.

“Well, ‘Wah’ to you too, bozo!” Sonic shouted back mockingly.

Luigi looked around at all the arcade games before turning to the door. “Don’t tell me. He wants us to play his games before the door will open and the traps will deactivate.”

Proxi and Link were both still taking in the atmosphere. There were so many lights and sounds. Link looked a bit confused. He’d never been around arcade machines before. “That’s... stupid,” Proxi said frankly. “We don’t have time to play his games. We need to retrieve the Power Moons.”

“Just leave it to me!” boasted Sonic, rushing towards the traps. He zoomed past them before they could spew out their flames; he was untouchable by the pads’ standards. The more traps he activated, the more obscure they got. Electric wires shot from the walls, and arrows burst from the ceiling, but Sonic continued swerving out of the way. This was child’s play for him. In seconds, Sonic reached the end. There were no traps right in front of the door. “Hah! Made it!”

Luigi stared at Sonic in complete disbelief. Honestly, he would have just suffered through the games and played them all one by one. But now maybe he wouldn’t have to. He had avoided true torment.

Link seemed pleased for a moment with his blue friend. He looked up at the animatronic, which started twitching angrily from its place in the wall. Link’s eyes widened. Proxi shouted, “Watch out!” as the green-clad hero aimed his bow and arrow.

Sonic looked up at the Waluigi animatronic. “Huh?”

The animatronic pulled itself from the wall. Link fired his arrow, but the mechanism merely fell out of the way. It landed closely in front of Sonic.

“Whoa!” Sonic exclaimed. “Personal space, dude!”

“Wah!” the machine repeated as flames burst from its nostrils.

“You’ve sure got a lot of variety, don’t ya?” teased Sonic, poking the device’s chest.

Luigi was panicking, unsure if the traps had all been permanently shut down after wasting themselves trying to catch Sonic. Was it truly safe to step on them again? He didn’t know any long-ranged attacks by himself, not without a Fire Flower or other power-up.

Link used his Clawshot to latch onto one of the arcade machines. In another moment, he easily ripped it from the ground as its circuits flared angrily in response. He spun it around from the grip of his hook to build momentum. “Sonic, duck!” Proxi warned.

The Waluigi animatronic drew back its fist, from which spikes suddenly protruded. 

Sonic grinned. “Sure thing, buddy!” The blue speedster ducked down, and the copy of Waluigi was struck by the large arcade machine.

It lay on the ground short-circuiting as volts of electricity sparked through its body uncontrollably. It began glowing with a green light, which grew brighter with each passing second. 

“Sonic, look out!” Luigi warned.

“Oh boy, not another self-destructive robot,” groaned the speedster. “That’s just boring.” Moonwalking backwards, he activated the traps once again, but he easily evaded the resulting flames, arrows, and electric wires before landing past the murderous traps. The blue hedgehog flashed a charming smile accompanied by a victorious peace sign. “See? Easy!”

There was no explosion behind him.

Instead, a party horn sounded as confetti rained from the ceiling. The still-functioning arcade machines all flashed text on their screens: “You won! Cheater!” Each of the traps made a clicking sound. They must have been shut down for good this time.

“Where’s the explosion?” Sonic wondered. 

Luigi cautiously stepped on a deactivated pressure plate. Nothing happened. Relieved, he sighed, “I think we’re better off without one.”

The spiked, metal door slowly opened. Beyond this door led to yet another wild, crazy world of explosive energy.

A miniature indoor factory, complete with gears and steaming pipes, was laced with the same flashy purple and golden lights. Countless tiny, wind-up Waluigis were carrying Power Moons and installing them in empty containers, which seemed to power something unknown—perhaps this very building. Several red ramps were on the walls, so the mini Waluigis could climb them and install more Power Moons.

Luigi let out a soft, rather frustrated sigh. “This is ridiculous. Minis? He made mini versions of himself?”

“Well, I think the little guys are actually kinda cute!” said Sonic. “Or they would be, if they didn’t have such butt-ugly faces!”

Link readied his bow and arrow once again. “I don’t like looking at their faces either,” Proxi commentated. “Let’s fix that.” The hero shot one of the arrows into the head of a smaller Waluigi before it burst into flames.

Pointing his Poltergust 3000 at the minis, Luigi enthused, “This will take care of them all much faster. Just watch!”

Suddenly, the metal flooring beneath them began to rumble. The floor started glowing purple before it gradually split open down the center. The new gap in the floor had separated Sonic from Link and Luigi. “Whoa!” Sonic cried.

Luigi, standing too close to the newfound edge, nearly lost his balance and let out a startled scream. Link grabbed a hold of Luigi’s arm to prevent him from falling and pulled him back to safety. A massive, unusably large carousel ascended from the opening in the floor. Golden bars connected mechanical horses with purple saddles to the inside of the obtuse attraction. The carousel began to spin and play a melodic, childish tune. “What now?” Proxi wondered aloud. “Is this another game that he wants us to play? A puzzle to solve?”

The horses accelerated, and the tune became more and more distorted. The music devolved into high-pitched, haphazard notes with no purpose or rhythm. It sounded like pure insanity resonating through the air. The carousel began to change. Its spinning top opened to reveal a massive head in the shape of Waluigi’s. The gargantuan effigy's eyes were closed. Slots opened along the circumference of the carousel's base, and two large cannons emerged from inside the twisted device. The cannons and slots rotated along the base in the opposite direction of the carousel, so they remained still while the gaudy attraction spun in circles and played its song. Two comparably short, mechanical legs emerged from the bottom of the machine, and they carried the whole carousel into the air. The Waluigi head’s eyes opened, and its pupils began to glow with blue energy. The massive, mechanical horses descended into the base of the giant, spinning robot, and it pointed one of the cannons at Sonic while the other aimed at Luigi and Link. “Waaaaah!” it bellowed.

“Aaaah!” Luigi screamed back. “This is horrifying!”

The minis began to leap onto the carousel. The cannons fired, and out flew the horses that had retracted into the machine. They neighed angrily as they tore through the air. Link jumped out of the way, but Luigi, despite his fears, stood his ground. He retrieved a yellow cape from his illogical inventory, and he swished it at the flying horse to deflect the projectile whence it came. The horse impacted the mechanical atrocity. Sparks sputtered from it, but it wasn’t showing any signs of slowing down.

Sonic was whipping and dodging around the horses that impacted the ground; then he jumped on one of the airborne horses. He ran across its back and jumped off it to reach the machine itself, but the Waluigi head’s eyes shot a blue energy beam Sonic’s way. Link fired his Clawshot, which gripped Sonic before pulling the hedgehog from the path of the laser to Link's side. 

“Thanks pal, I owe ya!” Sonic grinned.

The minis let go of the carousel, and they were flung at the three heroes systematically. Blinking red, they started to beep. They each let out tiny, high pitched war cries. “Waaaah!” Sonic darted out of the way while Link armed his bow and shot them out of the air as they came. Luigi readied his Hammer and hit them like baseballs back at the massive contraption. The minis exploded upon impact.

The carousel was disturbed by the few tiny explosions that hit it, but Luigi’s counterattack didn’t seem to be enough. The machine's eyes shone blue, and it pointed its cannons at the three challengers. “Cheaters!” it shouted.

Luigi looked at Sonic. “I have a plan! Bring me to Waluigi’s face!”

“You got it!” responded Sonic, grabbing Luigi’s arm and bolting before the machine began firing its giant horses without mercy. Sonic ran across the large room as one of the gargantuan projectiles made impact with the ground. The hedgehog jumped on the head of this horse and ran across its back while Luigi dangled behind him. The two were greeted by a second incoming horse. Sonic artfully leapt from the first horse to the second before using it as another platform to launch both himself and Luigi onward. The fake Waluigi’s eyes shot another powerful beam at the approaching blue and green fighters. “Throw me!” Luigi demanded.

“Here goes!” said Sonic, using all his strength to throw the green plumber towards the heat of danger.

Luigi pulled out his yellow cape. The face had to be its weak point! He snapped his cape forward as the laser closed in on him. The laser was reflected back at the Waluigi head. It collided, and the head erupted with flames. The left half of its face was blasted off to reveal wiring and mechanics underneath. “Waaaaaaah!” it cried as its other machinations began to overheat and explode. With one massive burst of fire and metal, the device coated the area with flames and short-circuiting neon lights.

Luigi landed on the ground. He was hot and winded, but he was okay. Sonic had landed behind Link, who shielded them both from the blast. The green plumber struggled to catch his breath after the adrenaline rush from taking down that beast. “What the heck was that?”

“That was totally awesome, obviously!” Sonic enthused. 

“More importantly,” Proxi noted, “now we can retrieve the Power Moons!”

“Alright!” Sonic cheered. “Leave it to me, guys!” He zoomed over and snatched each Power Moon from its container. 

As he was gathering all the Power Moons in the room, Proxi noticed a hidden door opening in the wall behind the now-destroyed contraption. “Hey! Look!”

Sonic finished collecting them just as soon as he started. “Huh? What’s up, another door? Where’s it lead?”

Clearly exhausted, Luigi wiped sweat from his forehead. “Why does Waluigi have to make this so elaborate?” he huffed. “Oh well, there’s just no way around it. Here, Sonic, give me the Power Moons! I’ll stuff them in the Poltergust 3000 so they’re safe!”

“Alright, you got it pal!” said Sonic, juggling the Power Moons and tossing them at Luigi one by one.

Luigi sucked them up in his Gadd-branded device, twirled its nozzle, and then put the machine back on his back. “Perfect!”

The mustached hero mustered up the zest to march to the new entrance. “It’s-a time to finish what we came here to do. Let’s-a go, everyone!”

Sonic followed Luigi with Link behind him. “You know, this place is actually really fun!” enthused the blue speedster. “The first robot was a serious letdown, but, man, that big guy was awesome! We totally wiped the floor with him!”

“It’s too early to celebrate just yet,” Proxi noted. Link kept his hand on his sword as he glanced around. “We’re still in enemy territory!”

Through the door was a massive, otherwise normal living room. In the center was a purple sofa, on which sat Waluigi, playing a microgame on a gigantic television powered by the bag with the remaining Power Moons. Behind the television was a large window with a beautiful view. The actual game looked... terrible, graphically, like a 16-bit game. It depicted a poorly-pixelated version of Waluigi playing tennis with another Waluigi. The referee keeping track of the scores was yet another barely-recognizable Waluigi. Every time the ball made contact with the tennis racket, it made the ‘wah’ sound. However, the game, despite its lack of graphical quality, lagged every time the pixelated ball—erm, "square"—passed the net. Furthermore, based on the movement of Waluigi's thumbs, the game's controls were inverted, and the referee seemed to erroneously call foul each time the computerized opponent scored. 

Luigi stared at his nemesis in utter disbelief. This was it?  _ This _ is what he was powering?  _ This  _ is what he was using all the Power Moons for? “You monster...” he muttered.

Waluigi paused the game as soon as Luigi spoke, and he turned around to see Link, Sonic, and his rival himself facing him all at once. Waluigi screamed like a little girl and ran towards the window. He jumped, as if he’d planned to burst through the glass, but he only slammed his head against the pane. Recoiling, Waluigi clutched his big nose, “Oh, grr, darn it!” he cursed in a nasally voice. He looked at the heroes again and gave them an awkward smile. “Oops, eheh.”

“We’ve got you now, purple guy!” Sonic declared. “Now hand over the Power Moons!”

The purple menace’s smile slowly faded, and he let go of his nose; both of his arms flopped down to his sides. A moment of silence befell them as he suddenly became more serious, composed. He looked less like someone who had just been caught off guard and more like an angered war veteran. “It was never fair, you know... All of you were heroes. All of you had something...” He looked at the three opposers. ”It wasn’t just you who came here and destroyed everything I built. No, it’s-a much bigger than that...” Waluigi clenched his fists and spoke through grit teeth. “Everyone...” He grew louder as he continued speaking. “Every...  _ single  _ one of you...”

Link unsheathed his sword while Luigi took out his Hammer; Sonic prepared himself for anything. “What are you getting at?” Luigi inquired.

“Everyone cheated... but  _ me _ !” screamed Waluigi, digging underneath his shirt to reveal a necklace with a red Power Moon on it. The Power Moon glowed, and so too did Waluigi’s body. A powerful, red aura exploded around him as purple vines burst from the floor and wriggled toward Sonic, Luigi, and Link.

“Whoa!” exclaimed Sonic, easily swerving and twisting out of each vine’s way. Link blocked the first vine with his shield and ducked under another before cutting a third vine, but he was overwhelmed when a fourth knocked him to the ground. Luigi frantically dodged the vegetation as though he were doing some obscure dance, and he ran towards Waluigi once the wiggling plants had come to a stop. 

Waluigi somehow appeared in front of Luigi, headbutted him like a torpedo, and knocked him to the ground. Familiar spikes burst from his knuckles as Waluigi drew his fist back. Luigi then realized that this was a fake, a robotic counterpart to Waluigi. Sonic used a Homing Attack to knock the mechanical Waluigi off the green plumber. Luigi sprung to his feet. Another animatronic Waluigi had already made its way to Sonic. It jumped in the air before coming down with a thunderous punch. Sonic dodged the attack, and Luigi knocked it aside with his Hammer.

The original Waluigi began to spin about in a circle with one leg extended like a lanky, ugly ballerina. A red cyclone formed around him; the vortex grew larger by the second. “Wahahahah!” Luigi was caught in the swirling wind and suspended in midair.

Another of Waluigi's mechanical clones flung itself at Luigi, but it was caught by Link’s Clawshot. It was pulled towards the green-clad hero, who ran the Master Sword through its head. “T’yah!”

Three more of the clones all charged at Luigi while he was dangling in the wind. He regained his composure and smacked one aside with his Hammer while Sonic curled into a ball and hurled himself at the other two, each of which exploded in flames upon impact. The remains of the mechanical Waluigis landed with a thud.

Waluigi stopped spinning; this caused the current to die, and he planted both of his hands on the ground. “Dodge this, cheaters!” Vines burst upwards from the floor as Luigi and Sonic descended. Sonic twisted and turned in midair to dodge them with exact precision. Luigi's flailing allowed him to dodge by miraculous luck. However, his luck soon ran dry as another vine headed his way. Link quickly cut it down on his path through the vines towards Waluigi. Sonic zoomed alongside Link; Luigi followed swiftly behind them.

Three of the mechanical Waluigis got in their way, the left of which armed an electric whip while the center’s fists enlarged and the third’s hands turned into Bill Blasters. From the Bill Blasters, a pair of Bullet Bills flew toward Link, who cut one down at its center before its separate halves exploded violently behind him. He blocked the other with his shield to knock it off course, but the leftmost robot grabbed it with its whip and swung it around before striking Link in the back of the head with the projectile, whose explosive impact shrouded the swordsman in smoke. 

“Link!” shouted Sonic, who was confronted by the Waluigi with massive fists. The animatronic met him with a barrage of punches, which he dodged swiftly.

Hammer in hand, Luigi crushed the Waluigi with the cannons into the floor below, but he was then greeted by the real Waluigi, who delivered a powerful roundhouse kick to Luigi’s face. The green plumber nearly lost consciousness as he was sent tumbling back into the wall.

Bursting through the smoke, Link sprinted towards the mechanical clone armed with the whip. “Haaah!” Link slashed his blade at the enemy, but it quickly snapped its whip around Link’s sword. Link slammed his shield against its metal head, which dented heavily from the force. The whip-wielding animatronic twitched; sparks spewed from its cracked skull. Link ripped his sword from its whip and vertically sliced the mechanical doppelganger in two.

Slowly rising from his place in front of the wall, Luigi was again confronted by the original Waluigi. “Nobody cheats today, losers!” Waluigi shouted. Luigi swung his Hammer in a flurry of blows at Waluigi, who dodged every swipe until he no longer wished to dodge. He blocked the Hammer with his glowing red arms as he smiled menacingly. “I always wah in the end...”

Acting quickly, Link tossed his shield like a frisbee towards the large-fisted mecha Waluigi. The shield struck the back of its head, which was severely damaged, and gave Sonic an opening to finish the job with a mighty kick. The shield ricocheted off the mecha Waluigi towards the original, who was still blocking Luigi’s Hammer and grinning evilly. His smile was ripped from his face when the shield smacked Waluigi in the back of his head. Waluigi’s eyes went white. He tipped forwards, then backwards, before, landing on the floor, he fell unconscious.

Sparks flared from the broken bodies of the replicas. Vines pierced through the once-peaceful lounge. The Power Moons were still powering the perfectly intact, terribly-designed microgame that Waluigi had been playing. Waluigi lay motionless.

They had finally defeated Waluigi.


	21. A Moment's Peace

After defeating Waluigi, Sonic returned to New Donk City Hall with Luigi, Link, and Proxi. Power had been returned to the city by the time they exited the painting containing "WaluigiWare, Inc." Now, the remaining Power Moons had been returned to Prof. E. Gadd and Mayor Pauline. The mayor had left to entrust the professor's vacuum-shaped vehicle—the "Poltergust  _ 4000 _ ," as it was called—to a group called the Toad Brigade, who could use a flying vehicle called a Starshroom to take it to E. Gadd's lab, where the Boos therein would be contained using the lab's Ghost Portrificationizer. 

Sonic was taking some much-needed R&R after their wacky battle with Waluigi. Link was experimenting with a guitar and a set of drums as instructed by a group of New Donkers who called themselves the "Super Mario Players." Meanwhile, Luigi was pleading with Prof. E. Gadd next to his frozen brother. 

"Fear not, Luigi, my boy!" the kooky professor chuckled. "I have just the thing to thaw out your brother! Assistants!" 

On cue, Silver descended the stairs into the room alongside Blaze and Espio. "Assistants?" the futuristic hedgehog asked offendedly. Using his psychokinetic powers, Silver carried a draconic monster in a net behind the group. The reptile had orange scales and large wings, and a flame burned on the tip of its tail. 

"What is  _ that _ ?" Sonic asked. 

"We think it came here from another dimension," Silver replied as he gently placed the netted monster next to E. Gadd and the frozen Mario. Luigi recoiled in fear when the reptile turned and growled at the green plumber. 

"Eyewitnesses saw it appear out of nowhere and start attacking the city," Blaze recounted. "The way it showed up suddenly sounds like how Link and I appeared in this dimension." 

"According to my analysis, it's called a Charizard," E. Gadd informed them as the monster turned away from Luigi and started growling at the professor. "It's a Fire-type, you see, so we simply need to use its fire to thaw out Mario!" 

"Um," Blaze started, "are you sure?" 

"Nonsense, young lady, I'm never sure of anything!" the professor asserted before pointing at the frozen Mario. "Now, Charizard, use Flamethrower!" On command, the monster exhaled a wave of flames at the professor, who leapt into the air and started running wildly around as his coat caught fire. 

"We already tried my pyrokinesis," Blaze sighed. "Why would Charizard's fire work if mine didn't?" 

The Super Mario Players stopped showing Link how to play their instruments as one of them grabbed a fire extinguisher from the wall. Panicking slightly, the man extinguished the flaming professor with a blast of foam while his bandmates rushed to the elder's side to ensure his safety. 

"Just how many people came here from other dimensions?" Sonic wondered. "There was us, Link, Blaze, and now Charizard." 

"I'm not sure," E. Gadd coughed after the New Donkers helped him to his feet, "but we don't need to send you all home at once. Once I've finished upgrading my Pixelator, we can use it to send you home, and Luigi can help me gather any stragglers after that." 

"What about Shadow and the Chaos Emeralds?" Silver wondered. "Don't we still need them to get me back to my own time?" 

"You're from the future, son?" E. Gadd asked. "Why didn't you just say so? I know a thing or two about time travel! I'll just add that to the Pixelator too. When I'm done, I'll be able to send you to send you back to your dimensions and to any time you want in that dimension!" 

"Can you really just  _ do  _ that?" Blaze wondered. 

"Why not?" the professor retorted. "We still have all of those Power Moons. That should provide more than enough power! In the meantime, why don't you see if you can find any others who might have been pulled into this dimension? Charizard was causing quite a hullabaloo, so who knows what kind of trouble the others could be getting up to?" 

Silver and Blaze agreed before turning to Espio, who nodded in assent. Then, the trio left New Donk City Hall in search of other interdimensional trespassers. "What about Mario?" Luigi asked the professor as he returned to his original question. 

"I'll have to study King Boo's scepter since it was used to transmogrify him," E. Gadd said as he brushed some soot off his clothes. 

"Hey, does this city have anywhere that sells chili —" Sonic's question was interrupted by an explosion that blew open the door of New Donk City Hall. 

"Gwa ha ha ha!" a deep voice laughed as the smoke cleared. A huge monster that Sonic recognized as Bowser, the King of the Koopas and Mario's archnemesis, entered the room through the smoke. He was riding in a round hovercraft bearing the face of a clown, and he was accompanied by a Magikoopa riding a broom. "It's Bowser time, baby! You didn't really think you could have a story out here without me, did you?" 

"Your Filthiness!" Bowser's attending Magikoopa decreed. "That entrance was spectacular!" 

"I know, Kamek!" King Koopa agreed. "Now, you know the drill. Hand over the princess!" 

Link had drawn his sword and stood protectively in front of the Super Mario Players, who were cowering behind the heroic swordsman. Sonic darted next to Luigi, who was standing protectively in front of E. Gadd. "Sorry, Bowser," Luigi called to the airborne Koopa, "the princess is in another castle!"

"You're kidding me!" Bowser exclaimed. "Mario never goes on vacation without Princess Peach! We received eye-witness reports of Princess Peach in this city from some of our top operatives!" 

"Um, Your Grunginess, I know what the reports said, but the princess truly doesn't seem to be here," Kamek observed. 

"Listen up! I didn't fly all the way to the Metro Kingdom to not kidnap anybody!" Bowser complained. "So who's it gonna be?" Then, the Koopa's eyes turned to Mario, whose frozen body stood just beside Luigi. "Oh-ho-ho! That's a nice sculpture you've got there. I think I'll take it as a souvenir of our time together!" The Koopa Clown Car opened its gigantic mouth, and a mechanical arm shot out to grab the frozen Mario, who was quickly retracted into the car's mouth before its orange lips closed over him. 

"Mario!" Luigi cried in protest, and the green plumber sprung into action to help his brother. Sonic and Link followed suit as Bowser and Kamek flew backward into the plaza outside New Donk City Hall. 

Kamek waved his wand around, and in a puff of smoke, suddenly, Bowser and his Koopa Clown Car split into three. "Gwa ha ha ha!" the three Koopa Kings laughed in unison before flying away in different directions. 

"I'll take the one on the left!" Sonic offered as he dashed away after that Koopa King. Luigi and Link split up to pursue the other two Bowsers. 


	22. E(gg)xplanation

"Three emeralds," Shadow declared as he laid the green, yellow, and violet Chaos Emeralds on a coffee table in the hotel room in which Dr. Eggman was apparently staying. "That should be enough to power your machine. Now, where's that body?" Power had been restored to the city since Shadow's encounter with the Amy and Knuckles look-alikes. 

"These things take time, Shadow," Dr. Eggman argued. "As you can see, my current accommodations are less than optimal. I have had some success with rebuilding the Dimension Grappler, however." The mad doctor gestured toward a huge, cylindrical machine at the center of the room. "If we use the Chaos Emeralds to power the machine, we could travel back to our original dimension, and then I'd have my own laboratory and all the resources I need to build a new body for Saturn."

"Not happening," Shadow declared as he retracted the three Chaos Emeralds, "you make the body first. Then I give you the emeralds. That's the arrangement." 

"Then you'll just have to be patient with me," Eggman huffed. "I'm trying to spin straw into gold here!" 

"Spin faster," Shadow replied curtly. "Last I checked, I was the one doing the dirty work to get the emeralds for you." 

"Oh, and just what was this 'dirty work'?" Eggman inquired. 

"One of them was with a dragon terrorizing a city block," Shadow recounted, "and the other was with these doppelgangers of Amy and Knuckles." 

"Interesting," Eggman pondered, "this may confirm my hypothesis." 

"What exactly is your hypothesis?" Shadow asked. 

"I ran some simulations trying to reproduce the incident that sent us here," Dr. Eggman explained. "When I remotely reactivated Silver Sonic II, I was hoping he would cause a ruckus in G.U.N. HQ to distract you and your friends from invading my lab. I had no idea he would be so... successful." 

"I heard," Shadow recalled. 

"Yes, according to the data he transmitted, Silver Sonic II's automatic repair system returned him to an operational state by integrating the nearby remains of Metal Shadow. He must have integrated Metal Shadow's Chaos data in the process, so he stole the Chaos Emeralds from G.U.N. and used Chaos Control to return to my lab. Then, he used that Chaos Blast at the exact moment my Dimension Grappler malfunctioned. The resulting chain reaction not only sent us to this dimension; it opened portals to this dimension in seven different dimensions, including ours." 

"One for each Chaos Emerald," Shadow surmised. 

"Exactly," Dr. Eggman confirmed, "the Chaos Emeralds were scattered to six different dimensions and then returned here." 

"Then, the doppelgangers of Amy and Knuckles I saw..." 

"They were different versions of them from an alternate dimension," Dr. Eggman concluded. "That dragon was likely a resident of another dimension as well." 

"Aside from those two dimensions and our own," Shadow counted, "that means the Chaos Emeralds could have pulled someone, or something, from four other dimensions into this city as well." 

"Correct, the remaining four Chaos Emeralds are most likely in the possession of those four extradimensional trespassers," Dr. Eggman hypothesized. 

"I'll keep that in mind," Shadow said. "Now, back to business, how long will it take for you to make that body?" 

"It could be days, weeks, months," Eggman sighed. "I have the EggBots, Orbot, Cubot, and Metal Sonic out scouring the city for resources, but there's only so much I can do without a proper laboratory." 

"In that case, I think I'll stick around," Shadow decided. "We wouldn't want you getting distracted on the job, now would we?" 

_ This hedgehog...  _ Eggman found himself groaning involuntarily at Shadow's unsubtle threats.  _ Just wait until the Gizoid is operational. He won't be so smug then...  _


	23. Timely Encounter

"Excuse me, do you know where we can find this kingdom's sorceress?" Nimue's genuine question was only met by an awkward glance. The kingdom's residents had been much more amiable since the light spontaneously returned to their land of stone and metal. Despite the full moon hanging overhead, the area was even livelier than most kingdoms during the day. 

"You would think their kingdom didn't even have a sorceress," Sir Gawain scoffed as the locals hurried away from him and Nimue. 

"We must return to Camelot!" Nimue enthused. "Without Excalibur there, the true king can never be crowned, and Sir Lancelot will continue to run rampant!" 

"Excuse me," someone added politely as a group approached the two. "Did you say you're trying to get home?" Before Nimue stood a pair of familiar faces, but they were accompanied by a third whom she did not recognize. 

"Sir Galahad! Sir Percival!" Sir Gawain exclaimed. "Your quest for the Holy Grail brought you here of all places?" 

"Careful, Sir Gawain," Nimue warned as she held her arm in front of the enthusiastic knight, "the one from earlier was not Sir Lancelot. It is possible these two are doppelgangers as well." 

"Huh, I guess you aren't Amy and Knuckles after all," the silver hedgehog resembling Galahad noticed.

"I told you they weren't cosplaying," the lavender cat resembling Percival sighed. 

"Are you by chance from another world?" the purple chameleon accompanying the two asked.

"Yes," Nimue affirmed, "I am Nimue, the Lady of the Lake, and this Sir Gawain. Please, do you know a way we can return home? It is imperative that we return posthaste." 

"We can't get you home, but we can take you to someone who can," the silver hedgehog replied. "We're from another world too. I'm Silver, and these are Blaze and Espio." 

"It's nice to meet you," Blaze greeted. 

"Likewise," Espio added. 

"Actually, a whole bunch of people got pulled into this dimension recently," Silver explained. "It's kind of complicated. Uh, how do I explain this?" 

"A powerful spell went awry," Blaze translated what Silver had told her in a way she hoped these two would understand. 

"I see," Sir Gawain said. "What timing..." 

"We're trying to gather everyone up so we can get them home," Silver continued. "Do you know where any others are?" 

Nimue and Gawain looked at each other before nodding and turning back to the silver hedgehog. "We were attacked by a black hedgehog called Shadow," Nimue recounted. "He stole a jewel from us called a Chaos Emerald, but we have no idea why he wanted it. We only found the stone on the ground after arriving here." 

"He is from our world," Espio informed them. "You would do well to avoid him." 

"A little late for that," Sir Gawain complained.

Silver put a hand on his chin. “It can’t be safe out here. For now, let’s get you two back to New Donk City Hall. There’s a man there who should help you find your way back home if you consult him.”

Nimue’s eyes lit with interest. “A court wizard? At last, we’ve been trying to find one. Where is this ‘New Donk City Hall,’ as you call it?”

“Just follow us,” said Blaze, leading their anachronistic friends to their new destination. 


	24. Beatin' Baby Bowsers

Luigi had thwarted one of the three Bowsers in a single blow by striking it in the head with his Hammer. In a puff of smoke, it instantly transformed into a Goomba with a racoon’s tail. Luigi had gotten one of the fakes. Landing on the ground with a thud, the Goomba was rendered unconscious.

Luigi looked around. Surely Link and Sonic needed help as well. “I’d better go and help Li—”

“Finally,” a vaguely familiar voice shuddered behind Luigi’s shoulder.

Jumping in surprise, the young hero in green turned around to face the newcomer with hands unclenched in a defensive stance. It was just a Shy Guy. The hooded, masked creature merely stared at Luigi from a short distance, only a few feet between the two of them. “You’re alone,” the Shy Guy noted.

Luigi stared at the Shy Guy for a moment; then steadily he relaxed his stance. “Do I know you?”

“Yes, Luigi, of course you know me. We met at the Wasino before the power outage,” the Shy Guy explained. “I laid the cards on the table. I said checkmate because I thought we were playing Go Fish; don’t you remember?”

The smallest hint of what felt like a memory barely tugged at the back of Luigi’s brain. It was incredibly foggy and unclear, but he did remember playing a game of poker at the Wasino before things went south. “Oh, yes, of course I remember... yyyyou.”

“I’m Kan,” he proclaimed. “I’m just an ordinary Shy Guy, but I’ve followed you everywhere ever since we met, Luigi.”

“You’ve what?”

Stepping forward, Kan held his tiny little stub-hands together while looking away bashfully. “I’m a Shy Guy, Luigi. Not just that, I’m a shy  _ guy _ . Do you get my meaning? I couldn’t just... talk to you while there were so many people. Not normally. And you’re just...” he managed to make the briefest hint of eye contact with the green-clad plumber, “amazing. So unordinary. How could someone as normal as me...”

Luigi felt himself tense up. This was getting uncomfortable. He swallowed thickly. “Uh... Kan, listen, this isn’t really the time. People are in danger—”

“No!” intervened Kan, boldly piercing through his shyness. “Now is the perfect time! I’ve seen it all, Luigi.” A blush was somehow visible through his mask. “I’ve seen you fight heroically! I saw you take down Waluigi in that painting! I saw you make so many friends and meet so many new people!”

“Actually, we already knew each—” 

“I saw you defeat King Boo with everyone’s help! I saw you hanging out with that blue guy, too! And...” The small Shy Guy took a single step towards Luigi, as though each step was taken through a hurricane of emotion. "I loved it! I loved every single second of it, Luigi. I think you’re incredible. And... and...”

“I’m taken,” Luigi said plainly. “I have a girlfriend. You know, Daisy? Princess of Sarasaland? I mean, I really appreciate the sentiment! It’s not often that I get recognition, but all the same, I'm-a still taken.”

Kan paused. The Shy Guy and the plumber looked at each other. There was an awkward silence. A gust of wind blew. “You’re what with the who now?”

Suddenly, a massive explosion burst around a corner. Kan, the ordinary Shy Guy, let out a small squeak and scurried away from the smoke and ash. Luigi wanted to do the same, but he knew that he had to stand his ground. The smoke cleared to reveal none other than Bowser Jr., piloting what looked like a redesigned RoboBrood. The machine had two massive, metal legs connected to a wooden box, which held a cannon inside the mouth of an angry Bowser head. On the top of the cube was a glass barrier containing Bowser Jr. The left side carried Roy who was tightening his pink bandana, and the other side held Morton, smashing his fists together. The back side, which Luigi could not see, roared with mad laughter—a voice he was able to identify as Lemmy’s. 

“You fell right into my genius trap!” Bowser Jr. boldly declared as Luigi stood before four of Bowser's eight children. “Now hand over Mama Peach!”

Suddenly, Luigi felt dumbfounded in the most peculiar of ways. “You didn’t get the memo?”

“Memo?” Jr. echoed. “What memo?”

“Peach isn’t here!”

Roy shouted furiously. “What!” a large, wooden arm with a gloved hand extended from the cannon, and it smacked Morton’s canister. “Junior, you idiot!”

“Hey!” Morton roared. “What did I do?”

“Papa told me that Mama Peach would be here!” Bowser Jr. squealed defensively. “It’s not my fault that he was wrong!”

“Well, you’re supposed to be in charge of this whole operation, so I says it  _ is  _ your fault!” demanded Roy, smacking Morton a second time.

Morton, now fed up with being smacked, grabbed the controls in his part of the machine. “Don’t smack me, Roy!” he demanded. The left leg of the device spun around three-hundred and sixty degrees vertically to kick Bowser Jr.’s glass protector.

The mad laughter continued on the other side of the machine, and the machine began hopping up and down frantically on its other leg.

“Guys, stop!” Bowser Jr. demanded. “You’re gonna break Papa’s thingy!”

“You don’t even know what it’s called!” Roy shouted. “Exposed! You’re a fake! A phony! You’re not a real leader!”

“Yeah I am!” came the bold retort. “I’m named after Papa, so obviously I’m in charge!”

“Yeah,” Morton began, “well,  _ I’m  _ the strongest, so I think  _ I’m  _ in charge!” The other leg raised itself from the head a few feet before smacking Bowser Jr.'s glass dome again.

“Well  _ I’m  _ the baddest!” Roy claimed. “So  _ I’m  _ in charge!” The fist punched Morton’s canister again.

The mad laughter continued. It didn’t seem like Lemmy was actually paying attention to the conversation. Sparks flew from the RoboBrood’s bouncing leg as it short-circuited before tipping the machine over. The large robot exploded moments after it hit the ground. Bowser Jr., Roy, Lemmy, and Morton were blasted through the air. Their screams grew fainter as they flew into the distance.

Luigi watched them go. “Well,” he thought aloud, “that was easy.” 

A second RoboBrood sprung behind Luigi from the buildings. The machine was followed closely by Link. “Incoming!” Proxi warned. 

Frantically jumping out of the way, Luigi ducked for cover behind a building’s corner. He looked past the corner at the second RoboBrood. This one’s main pilot was Ludwig, and the supporters were Wendy, Iggy, and Larry. “Mama mia...” 

It looked like it was already missing a leg as wires dangled helplessly from the empty socket of a once-mighty limb. Link seemed to be taking fairly good care of his own situation. Luigi wondered if he should just stay put and watch from a distance. “Fire!” Ludwig shouted. A cannonball was launched at the corner Luigi was hiding behind. Luigi yelped and quickly jumped out of the way. There went the hide-safely plan.

An arm extended from the machine's central cannon. It wiggled its fingers before reaching towards Luigi. Wendy, controlling the arm, laughed, “Gotcha now!”

Link quickly intercepted the arm and cut off its hand with a single slice from the Master Sword. “Haah!” The gloved hand landed on the concrete below. 

“Ah no!” Wendy cried. “Lefty’s gone!” She pressed a button. The wooden stick that was once an arm simply clicked.

“What’s wrong?” Ludwig asked.

“It’s... stuck,” Larry observed.

“What do you mean ‘It’s stuck’?” demanded the blue-haired eldest brother. “Get it  _ un _ stuck right now!”

“Uh, uh, uh,” Wendy panicked and started pressing every button in her compartment. The wooden box that was the RoboBrood’s torso began to spin around and wiggle its stump-arm randomly. The other Koopalings screamed as they spun in circles.

“Make it stop!” Iggy cried.

“I’m gonna be sick...” Larry warned.

Link and Luigi looked at each other. Link was expressionless. 

“Should we help them?” asked Luigi.

Link maintained eye contact with Luigi as he fired a bomb arrow. By happenstance, it struck the machine in a vital area: a small opening where the arm stuck out of the cannon. Link didn't watch the explosion. The distant screams of the Koopalings did not change Link’s expression.

“Well, how do you think Sonic is doing?” Luigi asked. 


	25. An Ordinary Shy Guy

After catching up to the Koopa's flying vehicle, Sonic defeated the Bowser therein with three consecutive Homing Attacks, after which the Bowser vanished into a puff of smoke alongside his car. Only a raccoon-tailed Goomba was left in the Koopa's wake, and the Tail Goomba fell unconscious with a fourth Homing Attack. "Drat, wrong one..." Sonic observed. _I wonder which of them got the right one._

Sonic darted through the city in search of Luigi, Link, and, hopefully, the real Bowser. After some running, however, he was distracted by the sound of crying. Sonic quickly approached the sound and found a Shy Guy sitting alone on a bench and crying into his stubby hands. "What's wrong, little guy?" Sonic asked as he approached the civilian.

The Shy Guy let out a "Wa!" of surprise as Sonic's sudden appearance startled him out of his solitude. "Oh, y-you're Sonic, right?" he noticed. 

"You know me?" Sonic wondered. 

"From the Olympics," the Shy Guy claimed, "I was a referee." 

"Oh, right," Sonic said as he pretended to remember for fear of upsetting the already-distressed individual, "it's good to see you again! What's got you so down?" 

"I..." the Shy Guy started. "I got rejected." 

"That's rough," Sonic offered as he sat next to the Shy Guy on the bench. 

"I was stupid to think I had a chance," the Shy Guy lamented. "I'm just so... ordinary." 

"What's so bad about that?" Sonic asked. 

"My beloved is _better_ than ordinary," the Shy Guy added, "and is already taken..." 

"Ouch," Sonic sympathized, "what's her type?" 

"Royalty..." the Shy Guy answered. "I can't compete with that." 

"Why should you have to compete with anyone?" Sonic argued. "The right person would love you for you, not because you're royalty or because you're better than someone else." 

"You wouldn't understand!" the Shy Guy cried. "You're a hero! You can run faster than the speed of sound!" 

"Yeah, and I'm single," Sonic replied. 

"I bet you could have a girlfriend in a heartbeat if you wanted one," the Shy Guy moped. 

"Maybe, but I don't," the hedgehog responded. "I don't want to live my life for what someone else thinks about me, and you shouldn't either. You don't need to be someone else's hero."

"I don't?" the Shy Guy asked as he looked up at Sonic through his round-eyed mask. 

"Be your own hero," Sonic encouraged with a smile. 

"My own hero..." the Shy Guy echoed as he looked down at his hands. 

"You might think you're ordinary, but you can do things I can't. You refereed at the Olympics, and you look good in a mask. That might not sound like much, but it's something I can't do," Sonic chuckled.

"I... I guess it is," the hooded guy agreed after hesitating a moment. 

"You've still got your whole life ahead of you," Sonic continued, "with or without that girl." 

"But, alone," the Shy Guy started, "my life is so ordinary..." 

"You don't need someone else to stop your life from being ordinary," Sonic motivated the Shy Guy. "You can choose for yourself to make your life _extraordinary_." 

"I'd be _extra_ ordinary?" the Shy Guy asked in confusion. 

"No, I mean, uh..." Sonic struggled to think of a synonym: "fantastic!" 

"Fantastic, huh?" the Shy Guy repeated. "Yeah, you're right! I might be ordinary, but I don't have to live an ordinary life!" 

"Then go out there and live the life you want!" Sonic added. "But, you might wanna head inside for the night for now. These streets have been pretty dangerous tonight." 

"You're right," the Shy Guy agreed. "Thank you, Sonic!" Then, the hooded guy waddled off. 

"All in a day's work," Sonic said to himself as he stood from the bench and rubbed his nose with a smile.

"Sonic, there you are!" Luigi called as he and Link approached from down another block. 

"Hey, guys!" Sonic called before dashing up to them. "How'd things go with Bowser?" 

The green heroes looked at each other in silence for a moment before returning their gaze to Sonic. "We thought you found him," Proxi said on Link's behalf. 

"Wait," Sonic replied. "All _three_ of them were fakes? Then where's the real Bowser?" 


	26. Here's the Real Bowser

"Gwa ha ha ha!" Bowser laughed as he walked down the halls of a hotel alongside his most trusted Magikoopa. Hoping the hotel's grandeur would impress Princess Peach, Bowser had rented the penthouse for the night. Of course, the princess was nowhere to be found, but that wasn't going to stop him from spoiling himself. "I tell ya, Kamek! The ol' summon-three-False-Bowsers-while-we-turn-invisible-and-escape trick has never failed!" 

"That's because we've never used it before, Your Gnarliness," Kamek reminded his king. 

"Now you're using that noggin!" Bowser agreed as he slapped his robed servant on the back. 

"Are you sure you would not rather take the elevator?" Kamek asked as the two reached the top of the hotel's forty-second flight of stairs. 

"You see these legs, Kamek?" Bowser responded as he gestured toward his reptilian appendages with his free hand. "You think I got these gains by taking the elevator?" 

"Of course not, Your Gainliness," Kamek huffed apologetically. 

Bowser hoisted the frozen Mario over his shoulder and continued to march down the hotel's hallway toward the stairs on the other side of the floor. "You could stand to bulk up a bit yourself, Kamek," Bowser added. "I'm doing this for your own good." 

"You're too kind, Lord Bowser," Kamek heaved exhaustedly. 

Then, the two saw a familiar face in the hall. A blue, robotic hedgehog was standing outside the door to one of the floor's rooms. The robot turned to face the Koopas as they approached. "Say, Kamek," Bowser started, "isn't that one of Sonic's friends?" 

"I believe that is Metal Sonic, Your Perceptiveness, one of Sonic's enemies," Kamek corrected. 

"That's what I said, Kamek," Bowser added. "Hey, Metal Sanic, what're you doing here?" 

The robot didn't respond. Instead, a voice called from inside the hotel room. "Metal, if you're going to knock on the door, don't just stand there!" Then, the door flew open, and Dr. Eggman peered out of the doorway. "Bowser?" the evil scientist turned and noticed the Koopa King. 

"Robotnik?" Bowser replied. 

"You old son of a gun!" the villains exclaimed simultaneously! "What on earth are you doing here?" 

"C'mere, you old so-'n'-so!" Bowser cheered as he grabbed Dr. Eggman, and the two gripped each other in a brotherly embrace. 

Meanwhile, Shadow had just obtained a Dark Star from a shady New Donker wearing a crazy cap. "How's this for payment?" Shadow retorted. "I don't blow your little shop to smithereens." With that, the ultimate life-form warped back to Dr. Eggman's hotel. _Will this thing really help him clone Saturn? That old man is up to something..._

Upon returning to the hotel, Shadow found Dr. Eggman commiserating with Bowser, King of the Koopas, in a pair of recliners. "But the old coot had rigged both of the mechas to self-destruct!" Bowser finished a story as the two seemed to be catching up. 

"I can't believe you built robotic doppelgangers of your archnemeses to face them in mortal combat," Dr. Eggman marveled with the beginnings of a tear in his eye. "I'm so proud of you." Metal Sonic rolled his eyes nearby. 

"I still think the Mecha Mario Bros. could've done it!" Bowser huffed. "If it wasn't for that meddling scientist, the blueprints would've been flawless!"   
"You don't have them still, do you?" Dr. Eggman asked. 

"As a matter of fact..." Bowser started. "Kamek! The blueprints!" 

"Of course, Your Craftiness," Kamek acquiesced before waving his wand and summoning some papers in a puff of smoke. Bowser took the blueprints from his attendant and handed them to Eggman, who furled his mustache as he deeply examined the crayon-scribbled design. 

"These are absolutely nefarious!" Dr. Eggman complimented. "It's a shame you didn't pursue higher education. You would've made a brilliant mad scientist!" 

"Oh, stop it, you!" Bowser replied with a wave of his claw. 

"Ahem," Shadow cleared his throat. 

"Oh, Shadow!" Dr. Eggman exclaimed. "How long have you been standing there?" 

"Long enough," Shadow said before handing Dr. Eggman the Dark Star. 

"Yes, a Power Ztar! Just what I need!" Dr. Eggman proclaimed. "Now, I just need a, um, yes, a Poison Mushroom! Do you think you could—"

"I'm not an errand boy," Shadow interrupted. "You've got your robots, and your friend doesn't seem busy." 

"What? Bowser is a guest! I would never ask him to—" 

"Ah, don't worry about it, Robotnik!" Bowser laughed as he stood from the recliner. "If you needed a Poison Mushroom, you should've just said so! I've got plenty of 'em! Let's go, Kamek. We'll be back in a jiff!" 

Bowser and his attendant left the room with a friendly wave goodbye. "Let's get back to that building that body, doc," Shadow insisted threateningly after the Koopas left. 

"Of course!" Dr. Eggman agreed as he stood from his recliner. "Let me just, ah, use the little mad scientist's room." Dr. Eggman stepped into the hotel room's bedroom (which was connected to the "little mad scientist's room" in question) and closed the door behind him. "I can't take anymore of this!" he fumed once he was away from Shadow. "Calm down, Ivo. Calm down. You've got the Power Ztar. That means all you need to do now is—" 

"Greetings, my lord," an unfamiliar voice interjected. Dr. Eggman turned to see a pale man dressed in white with a hooded, red cape that flowed extravagantly from his shoulders. He had white hair and ivory lips, and he accessorized with a number of point-cut jewels. 

"And you are?" Dr. Eggman inquired as he looked from left to right to try to figure out how this strange man had entered his hotel room. 

"It pains me that you do not recognize me in this form," the man lamented, "but I am your humble servant, Ghirahim." 

"Have we met?" the scientist asked. 

"Yes and no," Ghirahim mused, "we met in another life. I have searched across many worlds to find you, for you are the reincarnation of my master, Demon King Demise." 

"Are you for real?" Dr. Eggman replied. 

"Quite," Ghirahim assured him, "alas, if only you could be reunited with your true power, surely you would know what I say to be true, but that power was sealed away long ago..." 

"And..." Dr. Eggman started, "if I wished to, say, unseal it. Where would I find my true power?" 

"It was trapped within an extradimensional space within the Master Sword," Ghirahim recounted. "Perhaps, if there were some way to reach through dimensions..." 

"Wait here!" Dr. Eggman hastily told Ghirahim before rushing back out into the hotel room's living space. "Shadow!" he called. "I ran some tests on the Power Ztar in the loo, and it's not strong enough! I'm going to need another one!" 

"You're joking," Shadow complained. 

"Do you want the new body for Saturn, or don't you?" Dr. Eggman asked. "Or are you suggesting Metal Sonic could obtain it faster than you?" 

Shadow waited a moment before replying, "I'll be right back," and warping away. 

"Orbot! Cubot!" Dr. Eggman called, and his robotic henchman jolted awake from a nap on the couch. "Run an interdimensional scan for something called the Master Sword!" 

"Yessir!" the robots exclaimed as they saluted in unison and hovered over to the new Dimension Grappler at the center of the room. 

"Hmm," Orbot hummed as he conducted an initial scan, "it appears an item called the Master Sword is present in this very dimension, and it contains a dimensional space in itself. There is a large source of power emanating from this space, but it is blocked by some kind of energy field." 

"The Goddess's spell..." Ghirahim translated as he suddenly entered the room. 

"Ah!" Dr. Eggman jumped a little as the man's entrance startled him. Then he turned back to Orbot. "What would it take to get the Dimension Grappler through this field?" 

"The initial estimate of three Chaos Emeralds would certainly be insufficient," Orbot relayed his analysis. "We would need twice as many." 

"Six Chaos Emeralds, huh?" Dr. Eggman mused. "Shadow has three of them, but the others are probably still with people from other dimensions. I'll bet that Sonic has at least one, but the others..." 

"My lord," Ghirahim offered, "you are in need of these Chaos Emeralds? Is this by chance what you mean?" 

Ghirahim presented the red Chaos Emerald before offering it to the mad scientist. "Yes!" Dr. Eggman cheered as he readily accepted the jewel. "Five to go!" 

"The others are in the possession of beings who came here from other dimensions, yes?" Ghirahim confirmed. "Then I believe I know where I can find one." 

"Oh, Robotnik! I'm back!" Bowser called as he let himself back into the hotel room. "I got that Poison Mushroom you wanted!" The King of Koopas paused for a moment as he turned to Ghirahim. "Who is this?" 

"This is my new partner in crime, Ghirahim," Dr. Eggman introduced the man. "Bowser, I'm sorry to say, but I don't need that Poison Mushroom anymore. In fact, I don't need _you_ anymore either!" 

"What..." Bowser gawked. "R-Robotnik, how could you say that? I thought what we had was special!" 

"You heard me! Now get out of my sight, you overgrown turtle!" Dr. Eggman insulted. "Interdimensional domination awaits!" 

After sniffling for a moment, Bowser exclaimed, "Fine! I never liked you and your mustache anyway!" Bowser retreated back into the hall with tears in his eyes. 

"Now, where were we?" Dr. Eggman returned to business as Cubot closed the door behind Bowser. "I should be able to whip something up to handle Sonic, but for Shadow..." Dr. Eggman held the Power Ztar in his hand as he approached the pod containing the Gizoid. "I think I know just the thing." 

The ultimate life-form warped away from the window on the balcony outside the hotel room. He had heard everything he needed to know. 


	27. Providence

"A 'popsicle'?" Sir Gawain parroted as he tasted the frozen treat. Shocked by its sweetness, he hesitated a moment before taking another bite. 

"Technically, I call this one a Gadd-sicle," the kooky professor added, "but it is a type of popsicle." 

Nimue, meanwhile, chuckled as she watched each of the Super Mario Players, in turn, attempt to draw Excalibur from its sheath to no avail. After leading them to "New Donk City Hall," as they called this grand building, Silver, Blaze, and Espio had returned to the streets of New Donk City to search for more people who had been pulled here from other dimensions. Before they left, however, the three had introduced them to Prof. E. Gadd. The odd magician had entertained them with all manner of trinkets while he studied a mystic scepter and fidgeted with a device he called the "Pixelator." 

The magician left Sir Gawain to the Gadd-sicle and returned to his work. Then, another group entered the city hall. Nimue prepared to greet Silver, Blaze, and Espio, but instead she was met by a different trio: two men clad in green and a familiar blue hedgehog. "S-Sir Sonic!" she gasped. 

"Amy?" Sonic shuddered in fear. "Oh no, how did you get here?" 

"No, no, 'tis I, Nimue, the Lady of the Lake," Nimue corrected him. 

"Your Highness!" Sir Gawain addressed the blue hedgehog before dropping to one knee and saluting with his icy dessert. 

"You know these two?" a nearby fairy asked as the green-clad men gave Sonic a curious look. 

"Just 'Sonic' is fine," Sonic chuckled awkwardly. "Wow, what a coincidence, I never thought I'd bump into you here." 

"This must be providence!" Nimue enthused as she took Excalibur from the musical New Donkers and hurried over to Sonic. "Since you left, Camelot has fallen into another grave peril! Sir Lancelot seeks to claim the throne, and no new hero has been able to draw Excalibur to oppose him!" 

"Uhhh," Sonic stammered. 

"Please! You must take Excalibur and return with us to Camelot to reclaim your throne! Your people need you, Sir Sonic!" Nimue pleaded as she thrust the sheathed Excalibur into his grasp. "I need you!" 

The green-clad men each sidestepped a little away from the blue hedgehog. "Nimue, listen," Sonic said as he returned the sacred sword, "I have my own world I need to get back to, and my world has its own bad guys to fight. I can't just leave them." 

"You left  _ us _ !" Nimue exclaimed. 

An awkward silence fell throughout the room. The mustachioed man in green coughed. "Your Ladyship," Sir Gawain broke the silence and placed a hand on Nimue's shoulder, "let us allow Sir Sonic some time to think on the matter."

"Eureka!" Prof. E. Gadd exclaimed out of turn. All eyes turned to the kooky magician, who was staring down at some sort of dual-screened device. "I know how to save Mario!" 

"Really?" the mustachioed man asked as he rushed past Nimue and Gawain to the short magician. 

"Yes, my boy, I uploaded New Donk City's archives to my Dual Scream, and this scepter is actually a powerful artifact called the Ice Rod," the professor explained. "Apparently, if someone is frozen from overusing the Ice Rod's power, they can only be thawed by the power of the Ice Rod's counterpart, the Fire Rod." 

"How do we get the Fire Rod?" the mustachioed man asked. 

"Hmm, the records say it's stored away in Dimwitch Den," Prof. E. Gadd relayed, "the ruins of an ancient lair in the Beanbean Kingdom where witches once practiced their evil magic." 

"How do we get there?" the mustachioed man pressed. 

"I'm still not finished modifying the Pixelator," the old magician shared, "so I can't send anyone home yet, but I could send someone somewhere else in this dimension, even to Dimwitch Den. I just don't have a way to get them back." 

"Who cares? Let's-a go!" the mustachioed man enthused, but the other green-clad man, who had been approaching slowly, placed a hand on the mustached man's shoulder and shook his head. 

"We'll go," the fairy offered on the green-clad swordsman's behalf. "You still need to get Mario back from Bowser." 

"How are you gonna get back?" Sonic asked the swordsman and his fairy. 

"We'll figure it out," the fairy assured him. "We have plenty of experience escaping from evil dungeons." 

"If you say so," Prof. E. Gadd agreed before shuffling over to a mechanism attached to a tripod nearby. The device was connected to a red contraption by a long nozzle. Gadd pressed a button, and a beam of green light emerged from a lens on the front of the device. The light struck the swordsman, who was turned into blocks of various colors and sucked into the contraption as a result. 

"Sir Sonic's new knights are quite brave," Sir Gawain marveled. "Even I would think twice before being cast headlong into a den of witches with no means of return." 

"Indeed..." Nimue agreed as she clutched Excalibur tighter. 

"How touching..." another voice added. Nimue turned around to the entrance of the building (which had apparently been destroyed earlier by a creature called Bowser), and she saw a man wearing a red jumpsuit. He had an impractically large mustache and rode in a flying sphere of metal. The man rested his chin on his gloved hand. 

On the ground beneath him, there was a group of metal automatons. One was blue and resembled Sir Sonic. Two others were red and yellow with spherical and cubical heads, respectively. Finally, there were two more automatons on either side of the metal Sonic. The pair were metal look-alikes of Sir Sonic's mustachioed knight, but one's clothes matched the green knight's while the other was clad in red. 

"Eggman! I knew you'd show your ugly mug eventually!" Sonic exclaimed as he dashed between his apparent enemy and Nimue. 

The mustachioed knight jumped forward with an enthusiastic, "Yahoo!" and landed next to the blue hedgehog. "Oh, so  _ that's  _ your name? What do you want?" 

"I'll make this simple, Sonic and, erm, you!" Eggman scratched his head for a moment as he seemed to struggle to remember the green knight's name. "Hand over the Chaos Emerald!" 

"What is with you bad guys and the Chaos Emeralds?" Sonic asked with a sigh. "How about I just kick your butt instead?" 

"Bah! As if I have time for your antics!" Eggman chided. "Metal Sonic! Mecha Mario Bros.! Destroy them both!" The three automatons at the front of Eggman's ranks assumed fighting stances as their leader cackled maniacally and flew away; his other two henchmen followed close behind. 

"That sorcerer," Nimue began as she looked back and forth at the metal minions, "he controls these automatons?" 

"Yeah," Sonic said, "he's the head honcho." 

"Then allow me to dispatch him, Your Highness!" Sir Gawain offered as he stepped forward. "Will you be able to deal with his minions in the meantime?" 

"No sweat," Sonic said with a smirk. 

"I shall accompany you, Sir Gawain!" Nimue insisted as the knightly echidna sprinted after Eggman. "Sir Sonic, please, be careful..." With that, the pink hedgehog followed Sir Gawain away from New Donk City Hall. The three automatons made no attempt to stop her. Their glassy eyes were locked onto Sir Sonic and his green knight. 


	28. Bionic Battle

“The Mecha Mario Bros. have been rebuilt,” noticed Luigi, observing his robotic doppelganger and the cheap clone of his brother. “Mario and I fought them before. Last time they had self-destruct devices, but that was only because they were built by E. Gadd. I can’t imagine Eggman would-a be so kind.” 

Sonic grinned at Metal Sonic. “Metal-face! Looking gorgeous as ever, I see!”

Metal Sonic locked onto his primary target: the blue speedster. Both his hands turned into laser guns. “Conversation is irrelevant. Eliminating Sonic the Hedgehog.”

The Mecha Mario Bros. turned to face each other with open arms, and their bodies began to glow. “What the—” Luigi began. Metal Sonic shot rapid-fire lasers at Sonic, who swiftly darted to the left. The blue robot predicted Sonic’s movement, and he met Sonic instantly with a fist after dashing into the hedgehog's path. 

The Mecha Mario Bros.' bodies were pressed against each other and soon radiated a blinding ray of light, like a fully-risen sun. Luigi armed his Hammer and rushed towards the light. Squinting through it, he was unable to see. Blindly swinging his Hammer in the face of absolute peril was better than doing nothing.

Metal Sonic intervened by shooting a laser at Luigi. Luigi, unable to see the shot, was blasted into the middle of a busy street. Simultaneously, Sonic’s curled body slammed into his metal counterpart, and both of them went skidding across the nearby blacktop. A taxi stopped in front of them. The driver stared at the battle and blinding lights in confusion.

A steam explosion erupted from the ball of light, and panicked screams of nearby New Donkers filled the area. Literally tripping over each other, the citizens scrambled to get away from the danger.

From the steam emerged a metal body, which Luigi couldn’t see. The metal man scraped Luigi off the ground with a mighty punch to his gut. The metal hand morphed into a Bill Blaster, which launched a Bullet Bill into Luigi. The projectile carried Luigi sideways just above the street before exploding into the wall of a nearby building. Glass shattered, and panicked screams shot through the air.

Panting, Luigi slowly emerged from the hole in the brick wall. His new enemy looked horrific. It looked like one of the Mecha Bros., but it had a larger, metallic mustache and patches of green and red in its clothes. It had one massive, red scanner where its eyes had been, and it was barely taller than Luigi was. This was the robotic amalgamation of both Mario  _ and  _ Luigi.

“Mecha... Marigi?” the young plumber questioningly dubbed the monstrosity.

Mecha Marigi began approaching his adversary. Luigi knew he didn’t stand a chance on his own. “This is serious,” he noted. The green hero dug into his pocket and retrieved the first item he’d used since his “vacation” began: a Boomerang Flower. He crushed it in his hand, and he gained a green shell, a matching green helmet which was strapped tightly onto his head, and, of course, a trusty boomerang. Luigi held the weapon firmly. “Get-a ready to feel my boome _ rage _ !” he declared.

Metal Sonic was suddenly launched in the way by a kick from his organic counterpart, but he planted his robotic feet in the ground to regain footing. Sonic darted after him with a Homing Attack, only to be countered immediately with an identical attack from his opponent. Colliding in midair, Metal Sonic and Sonic rebounded off each other repeatedly and spun into a rising, blue tornado.

Luigi’s eyes darting between the two figures in the cyan tornado, he couldn’t tell who was who. Mecha Marigi vanished passed the conflict and reappeared in front of Luigi. “Waah!” cried the turtley plumber. Jumping back, Luigi barely avoided an apparent fist. Elongating his other arm, Mecha Marigi grabbed Boomerang Luigi by the throat and slammed him against the wall of another nearby building. The devilish mechination used his robotic arm to repeatedly smash Luigi against the wall like a jackhammer. Luigi used his boomerang to break Mecha Marigi’s arm off at the wrist, but he was relentlessly blasted with three Bullet Bills at point-blank range from the mecha's remaining arm. 

Meanwhile, Sonic was hurled into a bystander’s empty car. Landing with a thud, he was disoriented for a moment. He shook his head, looked around, and soon realized that this section of the street was filled with abandoned cars. Metal Sonic grabbed another empty red vehicle and lifted it high like it weighed nothing. He threw the car at Sonic. “Oh, crap!” exclaimed Sonic as he dodged the vehicle, but Metal Sonic simply continued to throw every car he could find. Sonic jumped off the tops of the incoming cars. Nearly having been struck, the hedgehog leapt above a car only to be greeted by Metal Sonic, who had flown toward him just behind the vehicle. The blue robot struck his organic rival with a Homing Attack. Sonic was sent tumbling down to the concrete.

Having been struck by the Bullet Bills, Luigi jumped up from the resulting smoke and landed next to Sonic. He’d lost his Boomerang power just as soon as it had arrived. Another arm was reforming from the shoulder of Mecha Marigi, who was approaching with a menacing, robotic saunter. Metal Sonic landed near his robotic ally. The mechanical fusion waded through the street's cars, which he tossed aside as he approached.

“Sonic! Are you okay?” asked Luigi, pulling out a Super Leaf.

Weak cracking decorating his once-confident tone, Sonic spoke through exhausted, sarcastic breaths, “Never better... bud!”

Luigi honestly wasn’t feeling much better himself, but this was do or die! After taking a few steps back, Luigi slowly began a running start; then, he crushed his Super Leaf in his hands. “It’s-a go time!” Taking off into a sprint, Luigi sprouted fox ears and matching tail, and he began to fly soon afterwards.

Rockets emerged from Mecha Marigi’s shoes, and he took off after Luigi. “You cannot escape,” the mechanism stated. On his way towards Luigi, Mecha Marigi shot three more Bullet Bills, each sent screeching through the skies. Fox Luigi managed to dodge two before spinning around to smack the third with his tail. He used the momentum to stomp down hard onto Mecha Marigi. His boots connected, and Mecha Marigi was sent crashing down to the ground beneath. Luigi followed and continued to pelt the falling Marigi with repeated blows from his Hammer. He twisted around once again to strike Mecha Marigi with both his Hammer and tail simultaneously. The concrete shattered when Mecha Marigi hit the ground, and Luigi landed softly nearby. 

Half of Mecha Marigi’s face had been crushed by the impact. He stared at Luigi through circuits and wires; a red light was the only sign of a left eye. His chest opened to reveal a Bob-omb. Luigi jumped away to preemptively evade a would-be explosion, but Mecha Marigi’s extending arms grabbed the plumber and dragged him closer. “Farewell,” he stated before firing the Bob-omb from his chest. The Bob-omb burbled its signature greeting before exploding violently. Luigi was launched into the air. He lost the power from his Super Leaf. As he spiraled through the sky, a Fire Flower fell from his pocket. The item landed on the ground next to Sonic. 

Injured, desperate, and —now—alone, Sonic turned his head toward his unconscious companion before returning his focus to Mecha Marigi and Metal Sonic. The blue hedgehog reached down and grabbed the Fire Flower. 


	29. Round 2

An aura of flame surrounded the heroic speedster. His blue fur had changed to a fiery red, and his quills spiked upward. "Fire Sonic..." Metal Sonic analyzed. "Upgrade detected. Begin copying new dat —"

Fire Sonic suddenly appeared behind Metal Sonic. A trail of flame on the ground behind was the only evidence of his supersonic movement. As Metal Sonic began to turn toward his opponent, Fire Sonic reached backward and launched a fireball into the robot at point-blank range. Metal Sonic skidded backward from the resulting smokescreen with his arms crossed protectively in front of him, but his guard was useless against a sudden kick to the face from his fiery foe. 

Despite flinching from Fire Sonic's burning blow, Metal Sonic reached forward to grab his opponent in midair, but Fire Sonic was now suddenly standing behind him. Metal Sonic turned again toward his opponent, but Fire Sonic dashed around him in turn at a speed faster than the robot's eyes could follow. Then, Fire Sonic looped around his metal doppelganger. Metal Sonic's eyes darted from side to side as he tried and failed to follow the hedgehog's movements. Fire Sonic's speed, however, eluded him, and the fiery hedgehog left a ring of flames in his wake as he repeatedly circled the robot. Metal Sonic finally locked onto his target when Fire Sonic came to a stop. The fiery hedgehog smirked and flashed a peace sign as the ring of flames spontaneously erupted into a swirling geyser of fire. 

Turning away from the firestorm, Fire Sonic looked toward Mecha Marigi. The robot opened his chest again, but instead of a Bob-omb, the compartment therein now contained a striped leaf like the one Luigi had used earlier. Absorbing the power of the leaf, Mecha Marigi grew fox-like ears and a raccoon-like tail. Then, the mecha's arms transformed into Bill Blasters, and he fired a pair of raccoon-tailed Bullet Bills therefrom. 

Fire Sonic darted sideways to dodge the incoming missiles, but this time, the Bullet Bills followed him. The fiery hedgehog dashed up the side of a nearby building as the tailed missiles pursued. Once he reached the building's peak, Fire Sonic kicked off the edge of the skyscraper and dispatched one of the Bullet Bills with a Homing Attack before uncurling himself and kicking the other into the building's wall. Meanwhile, wagging his newfound tail, Mecha Marigi had been flying after Fire Sonic as well, and after the fiery hedgehog had kicked his second missile aside, the tailed mecha slammed into his fiery foe with a rocket-propelled punch. 

The red-hot hero was knocked backward into the nearby building, but he turned in midair to plant his feet firmly on the building's side before propelling himself back toward the robot. Curling back into a ball, Fire Sonic caught aflame as he crashed into Mecha Marigi like a comet. The two crashed downward through the air and into the street below, where the meteor-like impact left a small crater and a burst of flames. Fire Sonic jumped away from Mecha Marigi, who had lost his leafy power-up, and smiled confidently. "I see why the Mario Bros. use these things all the time. This Fire Flower isn't half-bad." Meanwhile, Metal Sonic's automatic repair system had finished recovering from the flaming cyclone, and Mecha Marigi pulled himself to his feet. 

Blinking softly, Luigi slowly opened his eyes. He was still in a haze. “That’s-a some nice spaghetti.” He shook his head to regain focus and then held his cranium. “Where’s my bed? Oh, this wasn’t a dream.”

"Get your head in the game, Luigi! Here they come!" Fire Sonic warned. 

Luigi looked at the robotic enemies, whose eyes were locked onto their organic counterparts as they slowly but boldly approached. "Round 2," Mecha Marigi declared mechanically. Luigi let out a terrified scream, and he frantically dug around in his overalls before finding a Lucky Bell. After Luigi clenched the bell in his grasp and claimed its power, he sported himself a green catsuit with white paws. 

Mecha Marigi's arm changed back into a Bill Blaster, and Metal Sonic curled into a ball before loading himself into the cannon. Mecha Marigi pointed his arm forward. "Ha! Just try me!" Fire Sonic taunted. "I'm the fastest thing a—"

Fire Sonic was suddenly struck by Metal Sonic, who had been launched from Mecha Marigi's Bill Blaster at hypersonic speed. Cat Luigi gawked at the space where his companion had just stood as the red-hot hedgehog flew back into a nearby car, which crumpled under the hedgehogs' combined impact. When Cat Luigi turned back toward Mecha Marigi, the fused robot had already closed the distance between them with his rocket-powered boots. 

Cat Luigi yowled in fear before scrambling away from his mechanical aggressor. The feline plumber retreated on all fours toward a nearby building. In seconds, he dug his claws into the building's side and began climbing the mountainous tower. Luigi’s fear gave him speed. Mecha Marigi shot four Bullet Bills towards the rising Cat Luigi. Then the mecha used his rocket shoes to propel him upward to his green foe. Cat Luigi saw the approaching hostiles, shrieked, and turned into a golden statue of himself holding a gold, round coin. Golden Statue Luigi plummeted through the oncoming Bullet Bills and down towards Mecha Marigi, who dodged within inches as the robot's arm turned into a Hammer. Mecha Marigi smacked the statue of Cat Luigi aside and into the battle between the two Sonics.

Fire Sonic and Metal Sonic, meanwhile, had been engaged in a firefight. Fire Sonic dashed from side to side to evade the rapid-fire lasers from Metal Sonic's arms as the metallic hedgehog evaded a barrage of fireballs from the red-hot speedster. Suddenly, Golden Statue Luigi tumbled into the midst of their battle. Reverting from his petrified state, Cat Luigi emerged dazed but unharmed. The viridian plumber yowled again and tried to scamper past Fire Sonic to avoid the crossfire of their shootout, but Fire Sonic grabbed his feline friend by the tail. "Come on, 'Fraidy-cat!" he teased as he spun Cat Luigi around in a circle and tossed him at Metal Sonic. 

With tears in his eyes, Luigi let out a frightened war cry as he deliberately headbutted Metal Sonic’s chest. The blue robot was sent rocketing backwards, but two extended hands suddenly clasped around Cat Luigi before the feline plumber could recover from his daze. Mecha Marigi pulled Cat Luigi into the air before slamming him face-first against the pavement. Not stopping there, the mecha flung Cat Luigi to and fro as he slammed the helpless plumber into various cars nearby. Then, Mecha Marigi tossed his victim into the air, grabbed two nearby cars with his extended hands, and smashed the feline plumber between the broken vehicles. 

Mecha Marigi's chest opened to reveal a Bob-omb that he aimed upward to finish off his opponent, but a red-hot kick to the chest interrupted his attack as Fire Sonic knocked the mechanical amalgamation aside. Simultaneously, Metal Sonic had recovered from Cat Luigi's headbutt and was now rocketing toward Fire Sonic. However, Luigi, having lost his catsuit to Mecha Marigi's beating, pushed the two cars away from himself in midair and stomped atop the metallic hedgehog before the robot could strike his red-hot counterpart. 

"Thunderrr!" Luigi exclaimed as a ball of electricity appeared in his hand and surged through Metal Sonic. The blue robot's circuits sparked furiously before the metallic hedgehog eventually powered down under the stress of Luigi's Thunderhand. 

Fire Sonic, meanwhile, curled into a ball and spun through the air toward Mecha Marigi. The mechanical fusion's arm changed back into a large Hammer, and he smacked the flaming hedgehog toward Luigi with a powerful strike. Luigi, in turn, retrieved his own Hammer from seemingly nowhere and knocked Fire Sonic back at the mecha. Mecha Marigi struck Fire Sonic again to repeat his attack, and the two continued this fiery game of dead man's volley until Luigi instead knocked Fire Sonic into the air. 

Then, the green plumber retrieved a Super Star from his overalls and threw the shining item up into Fire Sonic. The living fireball suddenly began to sparkle with golden energy as he descended back toward Luigi, who charged his Hammer with electricity from his thunderous hands. “Fooooore!” Luigi shouted as his Hammer connected with Fire Sonic, and lightning surged into the living projectile. The sound of thunder cracked through the city, and Sonic—now fiery, electrical, and invincible—blasted forward into Mecha Marigi. 

The hedgehog tore a hole straight through the robot's chest before skidding to a halt. Mecha Marigi's arms changed into Bill Blasters, and what was left of his chest dropped a Bob-omb into the new hole in his body. He aimed the blasters at Luigi and Fire Sonic, but Luigi had taken the opportunity to charge forward while absorbing the power of a Fire Flower from his pocket. The plumber's shirt changed to white, and his overalls became green in its place. 

As Mecha Marigi struggled to aim at the zigzagging heroes, Fire Luigi and Fire Sonic approached the robot from either side and surrounded him. Then, each arming a fireball in hand, the fiery heroes shot red and green balls of flame into the armed Bob-omb in Mecha Marigi's chest. The Bob-omb exploded. 

In the wake of the resulting blast, nothing but pieces remained of Mecha Marigi. Having been caught too close to the impact, both Sonic and Luigi had lost their firepower. The two pulled themselves to their feet, exchanged a victorious—if not somewhat awkward—laugh, and gripped each other's hands in solidarity. 


	30. The Coming Storm

Shadow leaned against a street lamp outside the hotel where Eggman was staying. His internal musing was interrupted by heavy footsteps. The ultimate life-form looked toward the sound to find Bowser, who was shuffling dejectedly down a sidewalk nearby. The Koopa was kicking an empty can that had once contained a Shroom Shake and muttering to himself. "Stupid Robotnik... Who needs him anyway?" 

"Not you, Your Griminess," Kamek assured his master, "there are plenty of evil masterminds in the sea." 

"Hmm?" Bowser suddenly stopped in his tracks as he looked up at Shadow, and Kamek accidentally bumped into him. The Koopa King didn't seem to notice. "Shadow, what are you doing here?" 

"Have we met?" Shadow asked the Koopa. 

"Come on, man! I was in the Olympics!" Bowser reminded the ultimate life-form. 

"A lot of people were at the Olympics," Shadow retorted offhandedly. 

"Whatever," Bowser dismissed with a shake of his massive head, "listen. Robotnik has a new partner in crime, and that guy is bad news. I can feel it in my shell. Whatever you do,  _ don't  _ give him those Chaos Emeralds!" 

"Say what you want," Shadow replied, "but I need the doctor's expertise. There's a spirit in my body that doesn't belong, and the only way to get rid of it is to make it its own body." 

"I have a name, you know," Saturn's voice sounded in Shadow's head, but Shadow ignored him. 

"That's all?" Bowser asked. "Why didn't you just say so?" The Koopa turned to his robed attendant and snapped his claws together. "Kamek! Make with the magic, snap-snap!" 

"As you command, Lord Bowser!" Kamek acquiesced before waving his wand. The wizard fired a multicolored beam of magical power into Shadow. The magical stream faded to black as it exited Shadow's body from behind, and Shadow was wrapped in pain. The ultimate life-form clutched his head and yelled in agony as a dark hand emerged from an umbral vortex on his back. Slowly but surely, another hedgehog crawled out of Shadow's body. As the being first emerged and stood on its own, it looked like a silhouetted version of Shadow, but its color scheme was different. The hedgehog’s shoes and gloves were black where Shadow’s were white. The accents on his quills were a dark shade of purple instead of red. The hedgehog’s mouth twisted into a toothy smile, and he stretched his arms wide. 

"I had Kamek design this spell in the hopes of turning King Boo into a Dark Mario, a dark copy about three or four times stronger than the original," Bowser explained with a malicious smile. "We ended up with Dark Green 'Stache instead, but there's no reason it shouldn't work on you. The spell just needs a body to copy and a spirit to inhabit that new body." 

Shadow gasped for air as he struggled to regain his composure. Then, he turned toward his newly-reformed brother. "You won't mind if I borrow this, will you, Brother?" Saturn asked with a toothy grin. The dark hedgehog held up the violet Chaos Emerald, which he had taken from Shadow's person while the latter was recovering. "Ta-ta!" Saturn warped away in a flash of red light. 

"Damn!" Shadow cursed before turning back to Bowser. "Why didn't you warn me first?" 

"Is that any way to thank someone who did you a favor?" Bowser replied. "Now, keep those Chaos Emeralds away from Eggman. I'm going to get out of the Metro Kingdom before whatever scheme they have hatches." With that, an aerial vehicle with a round shape and a clownish face descended from elsewhere and hovered beside the Koopa, who climbed in. "Kamek, let's skedaddle!" 

"But, Your Fatherliness, what about your children?" Kamek's protest seemed to go unheard as Bowser flew off into the distance. The Magikoopa sighed before summoning a broom and flying after him thereon. 

"Great, now Saturn has a Chaos Emerald," Shadow muttered to himself. "I'll have to track him down somehow before he can —"

A bolt of lightning struck Shadow mid-sentence from seemingly nowhere. The ultimate life-form wailed in pain for a moment before falling to his knees. Shadow gasped for air as the vicious current subsided. He looked upward to the source of the bolt: a small, humanoid robot standing on the edge of a window that had been opened in the hotel. The robot was about Shadow's height. It was mostly black but accented by yellow stripes on its limbs and a yellow ring on its body. Two matching flax horns protruded from its metal head, and its face sported a pair of round, golden eyes that shone brightly against the night. 

"A Gizoid?" Shadow wondered aloud as he beheld the robot, but his wondering was interrupted when the machine leapt from its window, surrounded itself with electricity, and crashed down toward the ultimate life-form. Shadow backpedaled just in time to dodge a lightning-fast downward strike from this new opponent, but the Gizoid released a shockwave from his body upon impact. Another surge of electricity coursed through Shadow, and he found himself paralyzed as his body went numb. 

The ultimate life-form fell to the ground, and the Gizoid approached. It took the two remaining Chaos Emeralds off Shadow's person. "Simple," the Gizoid declared before shooting bolts of lightning from its feet to launch itself back toward the window from which it'd fallen. Shadow fell unconscious. 


	31. The Hero?

Nimue and Gawain had been chasing the egg-headed sorcerer in his floating sphere for a while through the labyrinthine streets of New Donk City. Finally, the two thought to surround him with a pincer maneuver. While Nimue continued to chase him around a corner, Gawain looped around the other side of the route in order to intercept the doctor's course. "Bah! You think you can catch me?" the magician taunted back at Nimue, who had been sprinting in an attempt to keep pace. "My Egg Mobile was designed to outrun Sonic! You'll never reach me by foot!" 

"Don't be so sure!" Sir Gawain asserted as he smashed his way out from the wall of a nearby building and ambushed the egg-headed magician. The floating doctor didn't have a chance to respond before the knightly Echidna punched his Egg Mobile and sent the vehicle crashing to the ground under the force of the titanic blow. 

Nimue and Gawain investigated the vehicle's remains, and they found that the sorcerer therein was actually another automaton, which had been disguised to resemble a human. "We were deceived," Nimue observed. 

"Then the real sorcerer is likely still controlling the automatons battling Sir Sonic and his green knight," Sir Gawain surmised. 

"We should return," Nimue suggested. "They may need our assistance." 

The two about-faced and started heading back toward New Donk City Hall. On the way, they passed a particular building, which stood out as being one of the only structures still bustling at this late hour. "Chuckola Cola Bar," Sir Gawain read aloud as he stopped for a moment in front of the building.

"With a will, Sir Gawain!" Nimue beckoned her knightly companion.

"Yes, of course, Your Ladyship!" the knight responded before shaking his head and darting after the Lady of the Lake.

Linkle, the girl with the soul of a hero, had wandered into a bar serving a peculiar beverage called "Chuckola Cola." Nothing had really happened since Linkle had been pulled into this strange city; she hadn't encountered any devilish villains or slain any fire-breathing dragons. Linkle merely sat idly on a barstool and drank a soft, carbonated beverage before leaning one of her elbows on the counter. This strange city had been a mystery to her from the moment she arrived. The young heroine knew not how she would return to Hyrule, and as soon as she and her fairy had landed in this bizarre location, a peculiar cyan jewel had appeared nearby. Linkle’s fairy rested on the edge of the counter. “Are we ever going to get back? What will become of Hyrule while we’re away? Will demons wreak havoc upon all the land? Will we return to find our once-peaceful home shrouded in darkness?”

Linkle placed her empty glass over her fairy. “Hey!” came a muffled protest. “Not fair!”

"You worry too much," Linkle sighed. Linkle didn’t like worrying about those things—or anything, really. There was no evil the young woman couldn’t take down. She was the hero of legend, after all! Her fairy claimed they were stranded in the middle of nowhere with no hint of where to turn or what to do. But Linkle knew better! She knew  _ exactly  _ where they were: on the way to Hyrule Castle after her most recent heroic triumph. The heroine in green put her hand on her chin and spun the cyan jewel on the counter like a top. 

Despite the bar's wooden ceiling, the presence of the full moon hung overhead. Silence rang through the bar as patrons left. The only sound in the restaurant was her noisy fairy, clamoring for freedom. Soon, only Linkle and the bartender remained. “Uh, place closes in five,” the bartender informed her. “I’ll go back and clean some dishes, and then we’re gonna lock up. Be out by then,” he advised before heading to the kitchen.

The fairy knocked over the glass, which Linkle swiftly caught before it fell to the ground. Linkle glared at the fairy. “What?” the fairy demanded. “Don’t trap me in a glass prison if you can’t handle the dramatic escape!”

"I'm not sure pushing over a glass counts as dramatic," Linkle teased as she playfully poked at her companion with her index finger. 

The door opened behind Linkle, but when she turned, there was no one. Linkle stood from her stool and placed a hand on her crossbow. She felt a blade on her throat. “My, my, my,” she heard a soft, elegant voice say from behind her. “What have we here? Another Hylian, and one dressed in the colors of the legendary hero, no less.” The mysterious man held the blade closer to her throat, “How completely drab, how dare you waste  _ my  _ valuable time with your presence when I have places to be?” 

Linkle tried to look at her assailant, but she couldn't turn her head much in this state. "I could smell your Hylian stench from halfway across this city, but I was certain only that pesky knight had come with me into this world. Then, if there were another Hylian here, they must have come not from  _ my  _ Hyrule, but from another. As the greedy doctor said: ‘Where there are creatures from other worlds, surely there are Chaos Emeralds.’” Linkle felt the man press his face closer to her from behind as he licked his lips with a loud slurp. “You’re merely a cheap imitation of an annoying cockroach that has yet to be crushed. This world is already in my master’s palms.”

"Buy a breath mint," Linkle retorted. 

In an instant, the man disappeared, and he reappeared by the backdoor. "Your insolence is amusing but irritating nonetheless," the man hissed. She had a good look at him now. He was a white-clothed man whose snowy bangs covered one eye; a red cape dashed fashionably but gaudily from his shoulders, and he flourished the rapier with which he'd threatened the heroine. "Shall we, as the New Donkers say, take this outside?" 

"We should follow him," Linkle's fairy suggested as the man stepped through the backdoor. "He can't be up to anything good." 

"Yeah," Linkle agreed with a determined nod before following the pale swordsman.

"Allow me to introduce myself," the pale man announced as Linkle stepped into a dark alley behind the bar. With a swish of his cape, the swordsman teleported from one space to the next in order to occupy what felt like the whole alley simultaneously. "Some know me as Ghirahim, but you may call me Demon Lord Ghirahim!" 

"Ghirahim..." Linkle's fairy echoed. Then, the small creature gasped with realization. "Be careful, Linkle!" the fairy warned. "He's not from this—"

Linkle's small companion was swatted violently into a nearby wall as Ghirahim teleported before the hero. Linkle gasped in surprise and ducked under a swing from the demon lord's rapier. "Enough prattle!" Ghirahim demanded as Linkle evaded a downward slash. "Show me your worth, 'hero'!" 

"You asked for it!" Linkle retaliated as she kicked at the demon's face. Ghirahim blocked the blow with his free arm, but the hero spun into the air and kicked the swordsman backward with her other foot before regaining her stance and arming her dual crossbows. The hero fired one arrow after another at the demon in rapid succession. 

Ghirahim scowled and parried each projectile before summoning a ring of knives into the air around him. "Perish, mongrel!" he decreed before snapping his fingers, and the floating blades flew toward Linkle, who rolled sideways to avoid the projectiles. Ghirahim teleported again to close the distance between him and his foe, and he thrust his sword toward Linkle, who had been backed against a dumpster. Linkle hoisted herself onto the dumpster to evade the stab, and she quickly switched her crossbows' ammunition to fire arrows. 

However, before she could shoot, Ghirahim swung his sword through the air, and a beam of dark energy spiraled off the blade at the hero. Linkle instead launched a pair of fire arrows at the dumpster underfoot to propel herself over the beam. "Where are you aiming?" she teased her foe as Ghirahim growled and launched another beam of sharpened energy off his weapon. Linkle fired one of her crossbows sideways to propel herself horizontally out of the beam's path. Then, she rolled onto the roof of the single-story bar. 

Ghirahim teleported onto the rooftop and conjured another volley of daggers in the air around her. "Dodge this one, human!" he taunted as he snapped his fingers, and the knives flew toward her from all directions. Linkle instantly switched her ammunition back to normal arrows, and she twirled around while constantly firing her rapid-fire crossbows, whose arrows intercepted every single knife around her. Then, the peppy archeress aimed her crossbows forward. Her first arrow was aimed for Ghirahim's chest. The swordsman, of course, blocked this projectile with his rapier, but the second arrow was aimed diagonally downward. This projectile ricocheted off the rooftop below, and it snapped upward into Ghirahim's jaw. 

"Ha! How's that?" Linkle rebutted with a smile. To her surprise, however, the arrow had not pierced Ghirahim's flesh. The projectile had instead pinged off Ghirahim's chin, but the demon lord's head had still been forced upward by the attack. 

"Insolent human..." Ghirahim growled. "Clearly, I have been too lenient!" His composure gone, the demon lord cast aside his slender sword and red cape, and his body transformed. His skin became darker, and white veins streaked across his form. A large, silver diamond appeared on his chest, and a smaller, matching diamond decorated his forehead. His muscles increased in mass, and he seemed to tower over Linkle as he clanked forward across the rooftop. 

"Uh-oh..." Linkle declared before experimentally firing a volley of arrows at the lumbering demon, but his metallic body was impervious to the barrage. 

"He's a lot tougher now!" Linkle's fairy noticed as the glowing companion suddenly appeared at Linkle's side. 

"Oh, hey, you're alright!" Linkle noticed as she continued her onslaught of arrows. 

"Regular arrows aren't working! Try something else!" the fairy suggested. 

"You got it!" Linkle agreed before switching her ammunition to bomb arrows and launching one at the demon lord. Ghirahim covered his face with his arms as the arrow detonated upon impact. "Got him!" Linkle celebrated as a smokescreen surrounded her foe, but Ghirahim emerged from the cloud with a metallic roar and a ferocious roundhouse kick. Linkle blocked the attack with her crossbows, but her powerful opponent forced his kick through her guard and knocked her off the rooftop. Linkle backflipped in midair to land on her feet on the sidewalk below. "Got any other ideas?" she asked her fairy as the glowing creature flew down to her side. 

"You see that red thing over there?" the fairy asked as she referred to a small, red object that protruded from the sidewalk. "It's actually a pressurized hydrant. You might be able to use that!" 

Linkle pondered her companion's advice for a moment as Ghirahim loomed on the edge of the roof overhead. The demon snapped his fingers and summoned a two-handed sword with an unreasonably thick blade. Then, he jumped from the rooftop and brought the absurd weapon crashing toward Linkle's head. Linkle barely sidestepped in time to dodge the heavy strike as the sword smashed the sidewalk underfoot, but Ghirahim immediately dropped the heavy weapon and punched Linkle in the abdomen. "Pathetic!" he screamed as all the air left Linkle's lungs, and the demon's heavy fist sent her skidding backwards. 

The hero regained her composure in time to swerve around another heavy slash from Ghirahim's sword. The hero backpedaled to avoid a flurry of lethal slashes until a vertical slash came toward her head. Unable to dodge, the hero intercepted this blow by launching an arrow sideways into a nearby building. The arrow ricocheted off the building's wall and struck the heavy blade, pushing it sideways before it could strike Linkle down. As his sword struck the ground again, Ghirahim roared with frustration and heaved the great blade sideways at Linkle's waist. The hero backflipped over the blade, which instead struck the red hydrant on the ground behind her. 

The hydrant exploded into a geyser of rushing water. This impromptu fountain swept Ghirahim upward in its torrential flow as Linkle landed just past the geyser. Switching the ammunition in her crossbows, Linkle fired a volley of ice arrows up the length of the skyward current, which instantly froze in place. Triumphant, Linkle flourished her crossbows as she glanced up at Ghirahim, who was frozen from the shoulders down in the top of the icy pillar. "Who's pathetic now?" Linkle taunted as she stuck her tongue out at the frozen demon. 

"Hm-hm-hm," Ghirahim chuckled to himself, "ha-ha-ha-ha! You are certainly amusing, so-called hero, but I have grown tired of this charade." The demon pried one of his arms from the ice, and he flourished his prize: the cyan gemstone Linkle had found upon her arrival in this strange world. "Ciao!" Ghirahim vanished with a cluster of diamond-shaped magic left floating in his wake.


	32. The Hero

Link rematerialized from the pixelated state, along with Proxi, his fairy friend.

“It looks like we’ve made it, Link!” Proxi enthused. “But... just what kind of place  _ is  _ this ‘Dimwitch Den’?” 

Humming inquisitively, Link examined the area. It didn’t seem to be much of a dungeon. Before him stood an abandoned, rotting shack, crawling with spiders and cockroaches. Leading to the front door was a porch that looked like it was on the verge of falling apart. The wood was wet and cracked; the doorknob was a rusty goldish-brown. A half-broken wooden chair lay on the rotted floor; pieces of the chair had already fallen off and served only to collect dust. There were no windows to be seen.

“You know, Link,” Proxi started, “this isn’t exactly what I had in mind when I thought of some place holding a powerful Fire Rod. I thought it would be, I don’t know, more majestic?”

Walking up to the rotted porch, Link nodded in agreement. It creaked with every step. He wasn’t sure if it would fall apart from underneath his feet. His boots tread carefully over the wooden flooring. Link grabbed hold of the rusted doorknob. As soon as he made contact with it, a gust of dark energy suddenly breezed through him, as though his physical body didn’t apply to protect him from the wind. The hero looked at Proxi.

“Haunted,” the fairy confirmed. “Be ready for anything, Link! Keep your sword close, and stay on the alert!”

Slowly opening the door, the hero nodded, Master Sword tight in his grip. When he entered, that very same negative presence ran rampant. No longer was it a concentrated gust of wind; now it felt all-pervasive. It thickened the air and dampened his every breath, but Link, unwavering, bravely walked deeper into the area. His courage was boundless.

The room was black, too dark to see anything. It was as if all that existed in this room was darkness and the stench of malevolence. Link began to wonder if the mad professor had sent him to the wrong location. Perhaps this haunted place didn’t contain the Fire Rod, but rather, it held some evil creature providing it with its evil energy.

To instantly prove him wrong as soon as the thoughts came, a light broke through the darkness. A rod with a red orb on its tip stood proudly on a pedestal on the other side of the room. Purple candles lit themselves across the left and right walls leading to the pedestal. The violet glow illuminated the destroyed furniture and somehow-intact cauldrons and tables, rich with crystal balls, incantations, and various materials to prepare spells of all kinds. Slowly fading through the pedestal, the transparent image of a green woman with a blue jewel encrusted in her forehead walked towards the brave hero. The see-through woman had a purple, puffy dress and a violet ruff around her neck. She wore what looked like a hat with two different points, golden rings encompassing either point. Her eyes bore no pupils, and were an empty odd pink color. The woman’s grin became more visible with each step. A sharp, toothy smile gleamed across the purple fire.

“Greetings, traveler,” said the see-through woman. “I am the witch of this place. My name is Cackletta. Surely you’ve heard of me. Even in death, I still remain one of the most powerful and feared magic users in all the world.”

Link gripped onto his Master Sword and glared defensively at the woman in purple. He assumed a fighting stance.

“Now, now,” Cackletta began with a chuckle, “I haven’t come here to fight you. You’re after the mighty Fire Rod, are you? Only those with a worthy heart can claim it. Many have tried, but none have succeeded. If you wish to attain the rod which burns the heavens, you must first prove yourself worthy.”

The dead witch showed Link the palm of her hand. “Look...” she said softly. Hesitantly relaxing his stance, Link carefully examined her hand. Seconds passed. Link wasn’t sure what he was looking for. An eye opened in the palm, and a wave of inky blackness shot from its pupil. In an instant, the energy pierced the green hero’s heart.

Link gasped and reflexively clutched his chest. No damage had been done. Looking down at himself in confusion, he held his chest still. What had happened?

Cackletta beamed a toothy grin at the hero. “You are very pure indeed, young one. But even people such as yourself have some sort of darkness inside you.”

The sound of rushing water echoed from behind Link. The green knight turned around to face the sound, to see a wispy lower half of his own body comprised of dark energy materializing, building itself with more liquid dark magic. It formed silver hair. Two red eyes pierced through the blackness lit only by the purple candles.

Dark Link stared at Link from across the room.

“How will you prove yourself worthy of this rod, young one? What does it mean when you see the evil before you? How will you manage the darkness that dwells within you?”

Dark Link readied his blade, a fake Master Sword in hand.

“Link!” Proxi exclaimed. “Please be careful! We don’t know what it’s capable of.”

Glancing briefly at the dark version of himself, Link turned to his fairy, then smiled. He gave a thumbs-up and walked forward.

“He’s that confident?” Proxi marveled aloud.

The malevolent doppelganger ran towards Link with sword unsheathed. Link merely kept walking forward: weaponless. The shadow silently swung its blade towards the green hero. Link caught the dark phantom’s sword by the blade; the light of the Triforce embedded in his hand pierced the suffocating darkness throughout, and he threw his shadow's weapon to the ground. Then, the truly unexpected happened. Link embraced Dark Link. He held the creature closely to him. Dark Link’s red eyes stared forward in confusion, mouth agape in shock. The young hero’s eyes were closed.

The ghost of the witch watched the fight end as soon as it started in amazement. Moments of silence passed as Link continued holding the puzzled shadow of his inner darkness. “Truly,” Cackletta began, “this is the most courageous thing I have ever seen. Anyone can fight against themselves for so long as they live. It’s so incredibly easy to hate yourself for every wrong you’ve committed. But, very few have the courage to forgive themselves of those wrongdoings, to meet that endless, internal conflict with love...”

Dark Link slowly began to fade away in Link’s arms, who held him ever closer as the body turned to ash.

“You have no regrets for anything you’ve done, do you, young hero?” the witch remarked.

Once the body completely vanished, Link turned back to Cackletta with a determined look on his face. Righteousness shone through his blue eyes, meeting the ghost’s pink. The two of them stared at each other while a pleased smile stretched across Cackletta’s lips. “Very well,” said the witch, “you are worthy. Never before has anyone so swiftly and so heroically done away with their own inner darkness. Your heart is pure. Please, take the Fire Rod.”

“And how do we get back to New Donk City once we do?” Proxi asked. 

The apparition sighed. It looked like she rolled her eyes. “You’re from  _ that _ place? Ugh, I hate New Donkers...”

“Actually,” Proxi said, “we’re just visiting. We have some business to take care of there before we head back to our real home, but we do have to return.”

“Oh, you’re just visitors! Thank the stars, I was nervous. Very well, I will open a portal that should take you back whence you came. You’ll be able to return with the Fire Rod in no time. Now then, hero...” Cackletta turned to Link. “It’s time to take your rod and leave this place...”

Slowly ascending from the pedestal, the Fire Rod floated gently over to Link as though it were riding a current through water. Link grasped the Fire Rod, and it momentarily surrounded his body with the shining light of its power. “Farewell, young one,” Cackletta said. “May we meet again...” she began to fade into the darkness, as each of the candles faded with her. Very soon, the only thing left was blackness.

Link took a step backwards, before he stepped into a pit he did not know was there. He could not see, but down he fell, spiraling out of control: down, down, down. Only the sound of Link’s screams could be heard as Proxi desperately chased after him. “Link!”

The hero fell into the lobby of New Donk City Hall. Pieces of wood residue landed on his pointy hat. He lay there on the ground for a moment. Proxi, unharmed, hovered next to him. “Are you okay?” she asked.

Link’s only response was a groan.


	33. Reincarnation

Sonic and Luigi were still reveling in their victory over Metal Sonic and Mecha Marigi. They still had no leads on the frozen Mario, but the fact that Dr. Eggman had employed a robot designed by Bowser meant the two were likely collaborating. Since Bowser had taken Mario, Eggman might be their best lead, so the two began searching the city for clues to the mad scientist's location. 

Meanwhile, another hedgehog was in the process of conducting his own search. Silver, Blaze, and Espio were rushing through the streets in the direction of a disturbance that Espio had sensed. "Are you sure it was this way?" Blaze asked. The pyrokinetic cat was obviously impatient. 

"Yes," Espio confirmed, "a dark power suddenly came into existence, but then it vanished just as quickly. It was like it..." 

Suddenly, in a flash of red light, a dark hedgehog appeared before them. At first, Silver mistook him for Shadow. He looked similar enough with his black fur. However, his gloves and shoes were black where Shadow's were white, and the red accents on his quills had been replaced with a deep violet color. "Teleported..." Espio finished. 

"Don't tell me..." Silver started. 

"You weren't by chance suddenly pulled here from another world, were you?" Blaze asked this newcomer. 

"Yes, I was," the dark hedgehog replied with a smirk. 

"He may be an alternate version of Shadow," Silver guessed. 

"That's where you're mistaken," the hedgehog replied. "You see, Shadow is my older brother. Unfortunately, I'm sure he's never bothered to tell you about me. My name is Saturn the Hedgehog. I'm the second ultimate life-form." 

"Did he enter this world with you?" Blaze asked her silver friend. 

"I didn't see him," Silver replied. 

"It's a long story," Saturn mused, "and I do so hate to repeat myself. Besides, it doesn't matter how I got here. What matters is that I'm here now, and, like before, I'm after the Chaos Emeralds." 

"What does he mean, 'before'?" Blaze asked. 

"No clue," Silver admitted. Espio shrugged as well. 

"Oh, right, none of you were there for that," Saturn sighed. "Whatever, I'll make this simple, then. Hand over your Chaos Emerald." 

"We don't even have one!" Silver argued. 

"I wasn't talking to you," Saturn retorted before pointing to Blaze the Cat. "I was talking to her." 

Silver and Espio turned to Blaze with a confused look. 

"Let's say I do have a Chaos Emerald," Blaze said to the newcomer. "Why should I give it to you? Why exactly are you after it?" 

"I'm after what I've always been after," Saturn answered. "My destiny." 

"This guy's givin' off some  _ mad  _ bad-guy vibes," Silver noticed. 

" _ Saturn _ ..." Espio repeated. "I feel as though I have heard that name before." 

"Well your destiny doesn't sound like my problem," Blaze mouthed off to the dark hedgehog before turning around and walking away. 

"Oh, it will be..." Saturn chuckled under his breath as his twisted smile practically glowed. "Chaos..." The dark hedgehog radiated red power and dark miasma. He clutched the violet Chaos Emerald he had taken from Shadow and took a deep breath and closed his eyes before returning his gaze to the departing cat. "Blaaaaaast!" 

Dr. Eggman was staring down at the coffee table in his hotel room. The newly-repaired Gizoid had just returned with the yellow and green Chaos Emeralds, which he had retrieved from Shadow. Ghirahim, meanwhile, had returned with the cyan Chaos Emerald. The red Chaos Emerald, which Ghirahim had given Dr. Eggman originally, was on the pile as well. "We still need two more..." Dr. Eggman thought aloud. 

Suddenly, a massive explosion of dark energy erupted a few blocks away from the hotel. The attack shook the building, and Eggman's gaze turned to the window, through which he could see a crater where a city block had once stood. As Eggman's jaw nearly hit the floor, he heard a new voice in his room. "You mean these?" the voice asked. To Eggman's horror, a darker version of Shadow had appeared in his room. This being spoke with Saturn's voice and presented the violet and blue Chaos Emeralds. 

Orbot and Cubot held each other as they shook with apparent fear of this newcomer. The Gizoid's eyes started to glow. Ghirahim's gaze turned to the newcomer for a moment and then back to Dr. Eggman. "My lord," Ghirahim began, "should I dispose of him?" 

"No," Dr. Eggman replied. Ghirahim and the Gizoid stood at ease. "Welcome back, Saturn," Dr. Eggman chuckled. "I see you've finally seen reason. When I use the Dimension Grappler to recover my true power and conquer all dimensions, I'll be sure to leave you a city or two to do with what you will." 

"Of course," Saturn agreed with a grin. 

"Orbot! Cubot! Activate the Dimension Grappler!" Dr. Eggman ordered his henchmen. The two jumped a little before saluting and taking the six Chaos Emeralds to the machine. "Pull my true power from the depths of the Master Sword! I shall be reborn!" 

Orbot and Cubot typed some commands into the Dimension Grappler's consoles after installing the Chaos Emeralds into its power supply. "We have a lock!" Orbot confirmed. 

"Let's rev 'er up!" Cubot enthused as he pulled the machine's central lever. Black miasma began to leak from the cylindrical machine. The Dimension Grappler shook violently as dark energy flowed outward from its core. 

"Thank you, Dr. Eggman," Ghirahim offered his gratitude. Suddenly, the pale man's thin sword had materialized from nowhere and was piercing the mad doctor from behind. "Your help is no longer required." Ghirahim smiled sadistically for a moment before looking down at the wound. To his surprise, however, no blood dripped from Eggman's body. Instead, bits of electricity sparked from circuitry that was now protruding from the wound. "What?" Ghirahim asked no one in particular. 

"Chaos Spear!" Saturn suddenly shouted. The pale swordsman turned his head to come face-to-face with a beam of red energy. The attack sent the traitorous swordsman flying through the hotel's window and out of the building. 

The dark power emanating from the Dimension Grappler slowly began to take a muscular, humanoid form. Bits of flame flickered off the emerging phantom. "Now," Saturn said to himself as he stepped past the image, "come to papa..." The dark hedgehog jammed his hand into the Dimension Grappler and forcefully extracted the red Chaos Emerald therefrom. Then, he turned around to face the phantom. "Chaos Unification!" 


	34. Calamity Saturn

Shadow's bout of shock-induced unconsciousness was interrupted by the sound of a nearby explosion. The ultimate life-form's eyes burst open, and he struggled to his feet as the numbness in his body slowly wore off. To his chagrin, his remaining two Chaos Emeralds had been stolen.  _ Was that the Gizoid Eggman was talking about?  _ Shadow wondered to himself.

Suddenly, another, more fiery explosion erupted from the hotel overhead. "Tch!" Shadow bared his teeth before skating away from the building. A number of burning, robotic figures were tossed from the building by the blast and scattered throughout the city. Any part of the structure over the blast had destabilized and was now crumbling.

Once he was a safe distance from the falling debris, Shadow turned around and stared at the source of this second blast. Panicked New Donkers began fleeing from the burning hotel in droves. Some were carrying friends or family that had been wounded by the blast. Saturn the Hedgehog was levitating over the top of what remained of the hotel. His feral eyes turned a malicious yellow with black sclera, and orange flames flickered off the tips of his dark quills. Six Chaos Emeralds floated in a circle around him before scattering in all directions and flying throughout the city. 

Suddenly, a crowd gathered at the scene. Sonic, Luigi, Nimue, and Gawain came first from different directions. Silver and Espio arrived moments later. "What is it  _ now _ ?" Sonic asked frantically. 

"W-w-w-wah!" Luigi yelled in fear. 

"What is that?" Nimue asked as she gawked upward at Saturn. Then, she turned to Shadow. "You, fiend, are you responsible for this?"

"No," Shadow answered without turning to face the pink hedgehog, "that thing is my enemy." 

"If it is as demonic as it looks," Gawain added, "I suppose we could settle our score  _ after  _ it is slain." 

"What exactly is 'it'?" Silver asked no one in particular. 

"Calamity," another voice answered. Dr. Eggman approached the group through the panicking crowd. "Saturn has fused with an ancient evil that was sealed within the Master Sword..." 

"You didn't..." Shadow growled at the mad scientist. 

"This was not my intention!" Dr. Eggman defended. 

"Sure it wasn't," Espio agreed doubtfully. 

"Something tells me he's not friendly," Gawain deduced. 

"Master!" another voice called. Shadow turned and saw the pale swordsman, Ghirahim, who had been assisting Dr. Eggman. "Demon King Demise! You are reborn at last!" 

Saturn floated down the side of the hotel and landed on the sidewalk. By now, the nearby civilians had all evacuated. "Ghirahim," he said, "you attempted to steal my power for yourself, did you not?" 

"Master!" Ghirahim repeated defensively. "I would never!" 

"It matters not," Saturn growled. "You fulfilled your duty." The demonic hedgehog extended a hand, and Ghirahim was suddenly suspended in midair by some magical force. Abruptly, a black sword burst from the pale man's chest. The weapon flew into Saturn's outstretched hand. This dark sword resembled Link's Master Sword, but it was much larger, and its blade was jagged. With the sword firmly in his master's grip, Ghirahim's body dissolved into orange light and was subsequently absorbed into the malign weapon. 

"He has become a demon," Dr. Eggman declared, "with the power to kill the gods themselves." 

"Sir Sonic!" Nimue pleaded as she thrust Excalibur into Sonic's clutches. "You must draw Excalibur! I know you do not wish to return to Camelot, but this is our only chance to battle this devil!" 

"Alright," Sonic agreed hesitantly as all eyes turned to the blue hedgehog. With a deep breath, he took Excalibur from Nimue and placed a hand on its hilt. However, when he pulled, the sacred sword did not budge. "What?" Sonic tried harder, but still the sword remained sheathed. "Excalibur! Buddy! You know me! Come on! We've got a demon to slay!" 

"Sir Sonic..." Gawain stared in disbelief as his former king tried in vain to draw the sword. "He is no longer worthy..." 

"Then we'll need the Chaos Emeralds," Shadow decided. "If he's anywhere near as strong as he was as Infinite Saturn, that's our only chance. Saturn scattered them throughout the city." 

"We'll have to split up and search for them," Silver asserted. "Please, look for Blaze while you're out there. Saturn ambushed us, and we lost her in the aftermath of one of his attacks. I managed to shield Espio and myself, but..." 

"We'll find her," Nimue assured the silver hedgehog. 

"What about him?" Gawain asked as he gestured toward Saturn, who was giving his new sword a few practice swings. "Think he'll just let us gather up all of those emeralds?" 

"We'll stop him," another voice added. Link stepped forward with his fairy companion, Proxi. The two walked through the group of heroes and continued to step toward Saturn. "Ghirahim was our enemy in Hyrule," Proxi explained. "He's been trying to revive Demise from the beginning, and he got brought here alongside us. We failed to stop Ghirahim, but we won't fail against Demise." Link gave a nod of affirmation as he drew his Master Sword. The green-clad swordsman stopped for a moment to give the group a small smile before continuing to walk toward Saturn. 

"Well," Saturn chuckled fiendishly as he in turn looked to Link, "if it isn't the legendary hero... Now that Demise is part of me, I feel like I know you quite well." Link simply continued to walk toward the demon. "Strong, silent type, eh?" Saturn flourished his unholy sword. "I always hated that about you." The demonic hedgehog thrust his sword into the sky, and blobs of evil mist flew from its tip. Dark clouds began circling overhead, and the shadowy projectiles started to rain down onto the city like a storm. As they landed, dark monsters with piglike faces began to form on the ground where they struck. 

"We should hurry!" Dr. Eggman enthused as the monsters began to pick up stray pipes and sticks, anything they could use as a weapon. 

With that, the group split up. Sonic, Luigi, Shadow, Nimue, Gawain, Silver, Espio, and Eggman all dashed outward in search of the seven Chaos Emeralds. Link, meanwhile, continued to step forward into the heart of this dark storm. His sacred blade glowed with divine light, and the sword vibrated with resonant anticipation. Link took a deep breath to steady himself as he closed his eyes for a moment. When he opened them, he was surrounded by a horde of malicious creatures. Smaller Bokoblins wielding metal pipes like clubs and trash can lids like shields growled and taunted him furiously. Huge Moblins wielded street signs like metal mauls. A quadrupedal Lynel stomped its bovine hooves. Saturn, Calamity Saturn, a new incarnation of Demise, hovered over them all. "Hero of Legend," Saturn started with a chuckle, "do me a favor and drop dead." 

"Hyah!" Link cried as monsters sprung toward him from all directions. The timeless hero spun around in a full circle and tore through the first wave of oncoming creatures like a razor-sharp whirlwind. The beasts faded into black mist under the divine might of the Blade of Evil's Bane, but Link did not stop there. With another swing of his blade, he sent a beam of sharpened light spiraling off his weapon toward the calamity himself. Saturn parried with his own sinister sword. 

The Lynel charged toward Link at full speed. The beast's horns were poised to strike Link as it used its muscular arms to gallop alongside its four bestial legs. Link turned to face the creature and countered its charge with a bash of his Hylian Shield before backflipping to evade a horizontal swing of a Moblin's street sign. Time slowed around the legendary swordsman as he rushed the Moblin and reduced the great beast to purple smoke with a flurry of slashes. Another Moblin hurled a cinder block at the hero from behind. "Look out!" Proxi warned, and Link turned in time to deflect the projectile back at its thrower with his shield. The block of cinder shattered against the skull of the Moblin, which faded into smoke from the force of the blow. 

"Don't get too comfortable!" Saturn taunted as he swung his sword downward. Correspondingly, a bolt of lightning crackled down from the newly-clouded sky and struck the hero of legend. Link screamed in pain as electricity surged through him, and he dropped his sword and shield. "Without that sword, you're nothing!" A sphere of dark power surrounded the Blade of Evil's Bane, which was carried into the air by the magic. 

Link drank a potion to heal his wounds from the lightning strike, and he looked around at the mob surrounding him before turning his attention to the Master Sword overhead. "Ngh." Another Bokoblin jumped at him from the crowd. Link picked up his Hylian Shield and deflected the attack. The pipe wielded by the Bokoblin flew from the monster's grip. Link armed his Clawshot and fired it at the makeshift weapon before retracting it down to him. Meanwhile, he hopped sideways to evade another Bokoblin's strike. Once his Clawshot retracted, Link flourished the pipe as though it were a masterwork blade, and he bashed through the small cluster of Bokoblins around him before the pipe broke under the power of Link's strikes. 

The hero dashed sideways to evade a ball of fire that had been exhaled by the nearby Lynel, which had regained its composure since being struck with Link's shield. Then, Link doffed his Hylian Shield and armed the large street sign that had been carried by the Moblin that had attacked him. Using both hands, Link swung this great object around and around in a circle. As he spun, Link stepped through the hordes of monsters to demolish them in his continuous whirlwind. After destroying most of the lesser creatures, Link stopped his powerful spin and hurled the sign into the Lynel. The creature covered itself with its great arms but was visibly damaged when the metal sign broke against its hulking frame. 

Link pointed his Clawshot skyward and fired it at his floating sword. To his chagrin, the hook bounced ineffectually off the magical barrier surrounding the blade, and Saturn suddenly caught the item's chain. "Get over here!" Saturn exclaimed gutterally as he yanked Link into the air by the Clawshot. Link let go of his Clawshot to avoid being pulled into a horizontal slash from Saturn's dark sword, and as he fell, he readied his bow and arrow. Time slowed around the hero again as, one by one, he aimed and fired explosive bomb arrows into the horde below him. Erupting flames consumed what remained of the Moblins and Bokoblins while a well-aimed headshot stunned the Lynel. Link rolled onto the ground when his descent concluded, and he picked up a nearby pipe that had been wielded by a Bokoblin. Dashing toward the Lynel, Link leapt forward and thrust the pipe, whose broken end provided a makeshift point, into the head of the great beast. The hero backflipped off the monster as it faded into malicious smoke. 

"That was quite a show," Saturn admitted from overhead as he discarded Link's Clawshot, "but what will you do about the rest?" Link turned his head from side to side, and he saw more swarms of monsters slowly approaching from every direction. 

"This actually might be good," Proxi encouraged her heroic comrade. "If all these monsters are focusing on us, that means fewer are attacking the people of the city. We just need to come up with a way to deal with them quickly so we can get to Demise." 

Link thought for a moment before having an idea. With a confident smirk, the hero armed the Fire Rod, the mystic scepter he had received from the ghostly witch Cackletta. The hero twirled the scepter overhead, and the magic rod left a trail of flames in the wake of its jeweled tip. As Bokoblins rushed toward him from all angles, Link thrust the rod into the ground, and a serpentine dragon made from flames was conjured from a mystic circle that appeared beneath the hero. The dragon spiraled around its summoner and incinerated the oncoming Bokoblins before dispersing into the air. Then, Link pointed the rod at another oncoming group. The fiery scepter expanded into the shape of a handheld cannon, and six grey segments blossomed from its tip like a flower, which glowed with the power of the Triforce. From the expanded scepter, Link launched a ball of flame that eradicated the oncoming group before the Fire Rod reverted to its original shape. 

Having dispatched the monsters around him, Link's attention returned to Saturn, who was now descending toward the hero with his dark sword at the ready. Link blocked the unholy blade with the Fire Rod, and he continued to parry a flurry of oncoming swings. Then, two blades of light emerged from the tip of the rod, which assumed the shape of a massive axe. He swung this axe at Saturn, but the demonic hedgehog merely caught its blade in the grip of his black-gloved hand. "Where did you get this old thing?" Saturn asked with a chuckle before the strength of his grip shattered the blade of light. "I hope you weren't expecting it to save you!" Link blocked a forward thrust from Saturn's blade, but the force of the stab sent him skidding back down the street. Link looked down and noticed a small chink in the Fire Rod. 

"The Fire Rod can't stand up to Demise's sword!" Proxi stated obviously. "We still need it to restore Mario! We can't afford to break it here!" Link reluctantly stowed the mystic scepter before turning his gaze to the Master Sword, which was still suspended in midair within a sphere of darkness. 

"Now, what else are you hiding up that tunic, hero?" Saturn mocked as he spread his arms wide. Link only glared in response. "All out of tricks?" Saturn assumed. "Fine, then." The demonic hedgehog punched the ground, which cracked under the force of the blow. Then, the concrete beneath Link started to rumble. Acting quickly, Link placed his Hylian Shield below his feet and stood atop it as a geyser of flames erupted underfoot. The shield protected him as the geyser shot him skyward. Time seemed to slow around the hero as he aimed his second Clawshot past the suspended Master Sword toward a nearby lamppost. After firing his Clawshot, Link was pulled toward the post and, consequently, the Master Sword when his item's chain retracted. "Oh no you don't!" Saturn shouted as he flew into the air to intercept the hero. 

Then, a barrage of explosive arrows flew from nearby and engulfed the demonic hedgehog in flames. Saturn was unscathed by the attack but was blown to the ground regardless. Link, meanwhile, placed his hand on the black sphere entrapping the Blade of Evil's Bane. His hand glowed with the Triforce of Courage, the symbol of his heroism, and the dark prison shattered. Link reclaimed his sacred blade and landed back on the ground before turning to face Saturn. "Where did that attack come from?" Proxi wondered as Link's gaze followed Saturn's. 

A new hero had entered the battlefield. She was a blonde Hylian wearing a green shawl over a leather tunic—with matching gloves and boots—and black shorts. A large compass hung from her neck, and she dual-wielded a pair of Hylian crossbows. A friendly fairy, presumably her companion, flitted at her side. "And just who the hell are you?" Saturn asked as he glared at this newcomer. 

"I'm Linkle, the legendary hero!" she announced proudly as she cocked her crossbows. "Hope I didn't keep you waiting." 

"Two..." Saturn growled as he looked back and forth between Link and Linkle, "heroes?" Link flourished the Master Sword. Linkle aimed her crossbows. "Fine," Saturn chuckled after regaining his composure, "I'll kill as many heroes as it takes!" 


	35. Clowning Around | A New Γow

Part I: Clowning Around

Nimue and Gawain ran through the large, metal village in search of the so-called Chaos Emeralds, the artifacts which would grant them power to defeat the mighty devil before them. The red moon painted the sky with its bloody colors. Malicious blots dove down from the heavens and struck the ground angrily. 

“This is madness!” Gawain shouted. “A demon with the power to kill gods, the fate of the multiple worlds in our hands and ours alone—all of this should just be solved with a punch to the face!”

As if on cue, one of the blots of darkness screamed down and crashed in front of them. Two red monsters about the size of Gawain and Nimue burst from the ground. They sported piglike snouts, white hair, and bright blue eyes. One of them picked up a nearby rock, while the other unsheathed its apparent claws. Gawain smirked. “Very well, then, it seems fate has spoken.”

The rock-wielding creature roared. That was all it had time to do before it was punched in the face. It exploded into a puff of black smoke and vanished into darkness. The other monster lunged towards the brave knight, but it was met with the same fate: a punch to the face. Another puff of smoke was left in its wake. 

“Well done, Sir Gawain,” Nimue said in admiration of Gawain’s quick work of the monstrous minions.

“Of course, Your Ladyship,” Gawain said humbly. 

“Still,” Nimue remembered, “this is a horrendous turn of events. Sir Sonic  _ wasn’t  _ the chosen one destined to wield Excalibur. If he isn’t worthy, then who is?”

“We’ll worry about that later!” Gawain assured as he grabbed Nimue’s hand before he broke off into another sprint. Nimue looked on at Gawain as they ran. He had the same question running through his mind. She could see it in his eyes.

As comets of dark energy poured from the sky, nearby buildings collapsed as the liquid malice struck and corroded their integrity. They fell in despair. Every second that passed, the village was plunged deeper into ruin. The villagers’ screams were ringing through the air. All they could do was run, just like Nimue and Gawain. Run.

Nimue, however, learned from someone she’d admired that one musn’t run  _ away _ from danger. She glared through the chaos taking over the massive cityscape. Newfound determination shone through her eyes. “No,” she said, “I’ll run towards it.” She pulled her hand away from Gawain’s, but she continued to run next to him. “Sir Gawain,” she said, “we’ll go our separate ways here. We can search for the Chaos Emeralds more efficiently if we do.”

“But, Your Ladyship!” Gawain protested. “Demons are raining from the heavens! The world is ending around us.”

“And I accept the challenge!” Nimue retorted. “Now hurry! Do as I say! We have no time! Sir Sonic's knight can only hold off Saturn for so long! I’ll check the city hall while you continue your search elsewhere!”

“Understood!” Gawain shouted as the two of them went their separate ways.

Gawain darted through the city. His eyes glossed over the destroyed land. “Where? Where?  _ Where _ ?” He was quickly losing his patience with the actual world on his shoulders. “Where is it?” It was then that he saw a hollow, small creature bearing the features of a clown down the ruined, stony path. “Another monster!”

Moments afterwards, he saw a small reptile bearing a spiked, green shell and a bib with monstrous teeth scribbled on it. This miniature dragon ran towards the clownish monster on its hind legs. The smaller creature was holding a yellow stone that Gawain recognized as a Chaos Emerald. The reptile hopped into the clownish beast’s body and cackled to himself, “Papa will love this!”

“You there, thief! Stop there!” Gawain shouted as he put up his fists. Lightning shot through the red sky; dark energy blasted down haphazardly through the city. “You must deliver to me the Chaos Emerald, or suffer the consequences, you devilish barbarian!”

The creature looked at Gawain. The small monster’s shock quickly turned into anger. “Wh—no! This is Papa’s!” 

“P-Papa’s?” Gawain repeated slowly. His frustration swelled inside him. 

“Papa needs to put something on his ring so he can propose to Mama Peach!” the small creature insisted. “He’ll love me forever once I give this to him, and then, we can all be one big, happy family!”

This child was being completely absurd. Gawain snarled angrily. “I do not have the time nor patience for this, young demon! Your father is of no importance! Now come forth; let us settle this matter in honorable combat!”

Gawain knew what he was going to do: knock the kid out with a punch and then take the emerald—no complications, no problems, no worries. However, something malicious fell from the sky. It was another miasmic blot of darkness descending from the crimson heavens. It fell towards the young child. Gawain sighed. Was it truly an honorable defeat to fall at the hands of a stage hazard? He wouldn’t like doing this. “Hell-spawn! Above you!”

The creature looked up in horror as he saw the incoming darkness. He let out a scream and quickly leapt from his steed. Gawain grabbed the young beast by the bib after he evaded the attack. The knight lifted the small creature up. The monster struggled. “Now give me the emerald!” Gawain demanded as the blot struck the clown-like steed. A puff of smoke appeared around it.

“What kind of jerk are you?” the reptilian creature asked.

“I’m the kind who really hates questions!” Gawain snatched the yellow Chaos Emerald from the young monster and tossed him aside like he weighed nothing. “Out of my sight, devil!”

However, emerging from the smoke was the angry steed. To Gawain’s surprise, this clownish devil looked different from before. Its white body had been tinted black, and the formerly-black eyes were now glowing an eerie red. It still had the same smile: the horrific smile of an evil clown.

Gawain was unmoved. “I see! You have been possessed and changed by the evil that has fallen from the skies. Come then. Face me, Sir Gawain, Knight of the Sun, if you dare! Are you like your rider? Are you weak? Prove to me your worth, strange metallic beast! Let us engage in this glorious battle! Show me what you—”

A cannonball fired from the clown's mouth struck Gawain's armored chest. The knight and his Chaos Emerald were sent skidding across the ground. Blood dripped from Gawain’s mouth. He wiped it away and smirked. “Well played...” 

With a valorous yell, Sir Gawain dashed toward the clownish steed. The creature fired another cannonball from the barrel protruding from its orange mouth, but the knightly echidna saw this one coming, and he punched the projectile to the side with a triumphant shout. Gawain reached his opponent and punched at the monster with his armored, spiked fists. The creature, however, hovered sideways to evade before a pair of metal arms, complete with red gloves, protruded from it and retaliated with a flurry of punches of their own.

Sir Gawain blocked blow after blow from his mechanical opponent’s barrage. Then, he countered with an uppercut that sent the monster spiraling backward through the air. The clownish steed regained its composure in midair before laughing manically and allowing a long, pink tongue to dangle from its mouth and swing back and forth. “You dare mock the Knight of the Sun?” Gawain shouted at the monster while shaking his fist. “This place shall mark your grave, demon!” 

A bolt of lightning struck a nearby lamppost, and the glow given off by the small pillar flickered off. This brought Gawain’s attention to the roadside post, which distracted him from the clownish vehicle long enough for the reptilian child to pickpocket the yellow Chaos Emerald from the echidna. After a moment, however, Gawain noticed the petulant youngling's attempt to creep away. "Ah! You won't get Papa's jewel!" the child shouted as he began to waddle away. 

"Have you no honor?" Gawain chastised as he started to run after the thief, but he was grabbed from behind by the child's possessed steed. The clownish fiend used its mechanical arms to swing Gawain around and hurl him into the nearby lamppost. Then, the corrupted machine flew after its former rider. 

The child squeaked in terror before withdrawing into his shell. "Jr. Clown Car! Why would you betray me?" he stammered from within his shell. 

Gawain's head was spinning from his collision with the lamppost. "Thief or not," he murmured reluctantly to himself, "I cannot allow a demon to assault a defenseless child!" With a powerful yell, the chivalrous echidna uprooted the nearby lamppost. The Jr. Clown Car turned a moment when it apparently heard the commotion, but its clownish face was met directly with the end of Gawain's massive bludgeon. The red knight swung the demonic machine sideways, and it tumbled across the blacktop before striking a building. The machine's eyes were replaced by Xs, and its broken body could not move. 

"You saved me..." the reptilian child marveled as he emerged from his shell. "Here," he added as he handed Gawain the yellow Chaos Emerald. "You're not so bad, guy. I'll find something else Papa can use." 

"I wish you luck in your quest, small one," Gawain offered before the child ran off. 

* * *

Part II: A New Γow

Eggman searched the city for the Chaos Emeralds of his own accord. Metal Sonic and the Mecha Mario Bros. had not returned from their mission. All four of his EggBots and his Egg Mobile had been destroyed. Orbot, Cubot, and his Gizoid had been lost when Saturn's unification with Demise destroyed his hotel room. This was it: no useful robots to assist him, no elaborate schemes. The genius doctor had reached a new low. Now, feeding off the fat of the dying, combusting land, he relied only on his wits. And the Chaos Emeralds—those sweet, sweet Chaos Emeralds. 

Meanwhile, a tall, lanky man in purple was approaching from the distance. He was holding something shiny in his grasp. "Can it be?" Eggman marveled as he squinted through his goggles. There it was, the purple Chaos Emerald! "Brilliant!"

The man dressed in violet garbs and black overalls looked up at the evil scientist from his Emerald. "Wah?" He sounded so nasally and annoying.

Eggman pointed at the man. "You there!" The big-nosed, pointy-eared baboon looked around. He turned back to Eggman with a questioning look on his face. The red moon shone behind his back. "Yes, you!" Eggman began approaching the fool. "Give me what you have there!"

"Never, wah!" retorted the idiot, quickly darting away with a power beyond his feeble understanding. The buffoon seemed to be ignoring the worsening conditions of everything: the lightning breaking through the skies, the liquid malice raining from above, the full moon glowing an unnatural red, and the city crumbling under the might of a natural disaster made flesh. 

Eggman looked up, and he saw literal meteors breaking through the heavens. "Holy mother of..." The ovoid, mustachioed, and unbearably handsome scientist immediately bolted after the hideous twig in purple. "Get back here! You don't know what you're doing!"

"Of course I know what I'm doing," shouted the man in his annoying, nasally voice. "This magical jewel will give me all the power I need for WaluigiWare, Inc.!"

Eggman became exhausted after running several feet; he found this idjit's statement puzzling. "Walu-what?" Eggman tripped over a loose piece of concrete that surrounded a nearby crater. Reaching as he fell, he gripped the madman's ankle and pulled him to the ground with him. The two tumbled over one another into the depths of the block-wide crater. Eggman rolled on top of his enemy and slapped him across the face. "Give it here, you cretin!"

"Never, cheater!" shouted the man, slapping Eggman back to knock him off. Stumbling through the concrete crater, the two continued to slap each other relentlessly. This was truly the fight of the dashing inventor’s life. The man obsessed with WaluigiWare emerged victorious from the slap-fest and crawled out of the crater with the purple jewel. 

"Oh no!" Eggman exclaimed. "It can't end like this!" Then, Eggman suddenly became self-aware. He was a beaten old man who had just been tussled to the ground by a purple psychopath. Excellent. "Help!" cried he, only half-faking his distress. "Oh, someone! Help!"

By coincidence alone, sirens began to wail in the distance, and they quickly approached. A police car drove in front of the purple man. "Wah!" he cried. Two policemen exited the vehicle and circled him. A woman with a red hat and dress emerged from the vehicle as well.

"My city is falling apart," she declared. "It comes as no surprise to me that the one responsible for this madness is none other than Waluigi himself! Officers! Arrest this man!" 

Waluigi was handcuffed. "Oh noooo!" he cried.

"Thank you, officer!" the beaten doctor enthused as he emerged from the crater. "I'm glad that you could stop injustice when you saw it, even in these trying times." 

"Of course!" an officer replied with the tip of his hat.

Eggman stealthily swiped the purple emerald. He grinned at Waluigi with a confidently arched brow. Watching Waluigi begin to cry, he pocketed the Chaos Emerald and walked away.


	36. A "Fantastic" Shy Guy

**** A meteor came hurtling down towards Luigi through the blackened sky, lit only by lightning and thunderous roars. Luigi scattered out of the way from the impact before it landed on the concrete. Everything near the impact was destroyed in an explosion. Looking for safety, the green plumber panted. Did he really  _ have  _ to be here? The winds were picking up. The clouds covering the moon slowly parted and revealed it to be red and looming. It lit the path to other meteors that were all striking in various areas across the city. The comets destroyed small decorative fountains and honorary statues without discrimination.  _ What is this? It feels like the end of the world! _

Luigi looked around for any place he could take shelter from the hellscape around him. Nearby was a strong, secure building that stood proudly in the face of chaos. Maybe if he found his way to its basement, he would be safe! The green plumber ran inside the tall building. His eyes darted around for the staircase leading to the basement. He found it in the corner of the opposite end of the building, near which was a large window which displayed the chaos of the endtimes outside. Lightning streamed across the sky; the meteors left fire and ash in their wake. Every collision they made with the ground caused a small tremor underneath Luigi’s feet. The mustachioed man stared at the havoc outside. “Mama miaaaaa!” he screamed. Luigi darted down the staircase. A door was at the bottom of it. Luigi burst open the threshold, rushed into the room, and slammed his back against the door. Luigi was still panting. His heart was pounding. He couldn’t breathe.

“Hello,” came a familiar voice, “we meet again,  _ Luigi _ .”

Dazed and frightened, the green plumber gazed on at a familiar Shy Guy who held onto a single, green Chaos Emerald. Nearby him was a wall filled with crates holding food and water to survive down here in case of emergencies such as this. Luigi stared at the Shy Guy with the Chaos Emerald. “Wh-”  
“Who?” the Shy Guy finished. “Am? I? Well, I’m Kan!”

“I was actually going to ask, ‘What?’ but this works just as well,” Luigi commented.

“You seem to have caught me,  _ Luigi _ , in the middle of a very important mission. This jewel is going to sell for quite a pretty penny, you know,” Kan proclaimed as he gazed at the Chaos Emerald in admiration of its glory.

Luigi stared at Kan as the earth trembled yet again under his feet, even in the basement from the madness above him. “Kan,” Luigi began, “the world is ending around us. We are all  _ going _ ... to  _ die _ . We need those. Those are Chaos Emeralds. If we collect them all, we have a chance to undo everything.”

“Chaos whatnows?” asked Kan, staring at Luigi in confusion. “How could this pointless rock actually save the world from this wonderful weather?”

“‘W-Wonderful... weather,’” echoed Luigi, completely dumbfounded.

“This is just another day in my life. This is completely normal to me!” the Shy Guy daringly proclaimed. “And do you want to know why?”

“Wh—”

“It’s because I’m  _ fantastic _ !” Kan stated with unprecedented confidence, which he just didn’t seem to have the last time Luigi spoke to him. “Sonic told me so! This weather means nothing to me!”

Luigi blinked twice. Was he dreaming? “You’re... serious? Sonic told you that you were fantastic, so...”

“So it must be true!” Kan finished as he held the emerald protectively close to his tiny little body with his stubby little hands. “It’s destiny, Luigi! Fate!”

“Sure,” Luigi half-heartedly agreed; he was far more concerned with the emerald in Kan’s possession. The ground was still trembling underfoot as if it too feared of the horrors outside. 

“You think you’re better than me, Luigi, because you’re a  _ hero _ . But I’m my own hero now. I’ve moved on! I’m more than an ordinary Shy Guy! I’m Kan! The fantastic Shy Guy, you know?”

The green plumber looked at the Shy Guy who was talking to him about... this.  _ This,  _ in the actual apocalypse. Something snapped in Luigi’s brain. “You’re right,” he agreed. “You are a fantastic Shy Guy.”

“Don’t be so stubborn, you—what? Did you just agree with me?” Kan inquired in shock. He put one of his tiny stub-hands on his ‘mouth,’ or at least the hole in his mask where the mouth would be.

“Oh yeah! You’re an incredible person, little guy!” the green-clad man spoke through a friendly facade, a shallow mask for his increasingly obvious panic. "Trust me, I’ve been on several crazy adventures.” Luigi’s mind was racing as he improvised an inspirational speech. “I’ve fought ghosts. I’ve battled Bowser countless times. I’ve saved Princess Daisy once before. I’ve even befriended a big old Blooper once! But I’ve never seen anyone who’s as brave as you are, Kan.”

The little red Shy Guy was flabbergasted, unable to comprehend what he was hearing momentarily. It was all clicking but very slowly. He stared at Luigi with his little black eyes. “You... you think that I’m brave?”

“I do!” affirmed Luigi, smiling at Kan through his terror as the ground still rattled around him. The Shy Guy was actually listening to reason. His heart drumming in his chest, Luigi pushed on. “Despite all the craziness that’s happening... even through everything here. Kan, you are the most  _ fantastic  _ Shy Guy I have ever met. Because you have the courage to change everything about yourself, and become a better person in the process. That’s wonderful!”

Blushing behind his mask, Kan shielded his eyes behind his tiny little hands. “Aw, shucks, you. You’re so kind; you always know what to say. You know what, Luigi?” Holding the Chaos Emerald, Kan looked at the green plumber. “You can have this. I just stole it because it looked shiny anyway, and I was gonna bail since this place is falling apart. But... you know what else?” Kan gave Luigi the Chaos Emerald; then he dug into his pocket once more. He retrieved an Invincibility Leaf. “Here. I stole this too.”

Luigi stared at the stolen item and wondered for a second if he would get framed for robbery if he took it, but the world was at stake. Desperate times called for desperate measures.  _ It’s worth it. _ Luigi grabbed the Invincibility Leaf and stuffed it into the pocket of his overalls alongside the green Chaos Emerald. “Thank you, Kan, you’ve-a done the right thing.”

Blushing wildly, Kan scurried upstairs. “Don’t die out there, hero!” he called without looking back.

Luigi watched him scurry off. The city was falling apart above him. Meteors were tearing through the sky. Everything would soon be sent to ruin in the face of this demonic villain, Saturn. And through everything, Kan... called him ‘hero.’ Luigi smiled, straightened his cap, and walked up the stairs. “I can’t prove him wrong,” Luigi proclaimed bravely.


	37. Prefect Hydra | Black Ice

Part I: Prefect Hydra

Sonic zigzagged through the crumbling city. He swerved to the left to dodge a falling billboard that had been struck by lightning. Then, he used a Homing Attack to dispatch a dark monster that had emerged from a blob of darkness nearby. He sped past the rest as more monsters grew from malicious blots falling from the sky around him. 

As he looked high and low for the Chaos Emeralds, he passed a robot that seemed to be stuck into the side of the trailer of an abandoned eighteen-wheeler. As Sonic sped by, the black-and-yellow Gizoid was struck with a blot of darkness from the sky. The robot's glowing, yellow eyes lit up before fading to a dark magenta, and it pried itself from the side of the trailer. 

As Sonic continued to run, he swerved to the left to dodge a horizontal bolt of lightning that flew at him from behind. Without stopping, the blue speedster looked back and saw he was being pursued by the corrupted Gizoid. "Well, how do you do there?" he said with a smile as he ducked under another bolt of electricity that the Gizoid had fired from his arm. "Can this wait? I'm kinda busy at the moment."

With electricity surging through his legs, the Gizoid dashed forward and managed to keep pace with the supersonic hedgehog as he pursued. He fired two more bolts of electricity, but neither was aimed at Sonic. The bolts struck a pair of abandoned cars on either side of the road ahead of Sonic, and the two cars became magnetized. Suddenly, the cars smashed together just as Sonic passed between them, but the blue hedgehog barely managed to leap over the vehicles in time to avoid getting sandwiched. "Jeez, so clingy..." Sonic muttered to himself as he turned around a street corner.

Sonic dodged around another group of dark blobs that fell from the sky. The monsters these blots left in their wake were immediately bypassed by the electrical Gizoid, who turned around the corner after Sonic. Further down the street, Sonic saw an armored van that had been parked in the middle of the road. To his surprise, the back of the vehicle opened, and from it stepped Shadow the Hedgehog, carrying a Gatling Gun. "Outta the way, Faker," was the only warning the ultimate life-form gave before hoisting the Gatling Gun up and opening fire down the road. 

Luckily, Sonic managed to jump out of the way and run along the side of a nearby building to keep his momentum. The Gizoid, meanwhile, continued his pursuit down the middle of the road. An electromagnetic field surrounded his body and effortlessly deflected all of the Gatling Gun's ammunition as the Gizoid charged forward. "Careful!" Sonic shouted as he passed Shadow. "You could put somebody's eye out with that thing!" 

"That's the idea," Shadow muttered back before discarding the Gatling Gun and arming a Grenade Launcher, which he had presumably also retrieved from the armored vehicle. Sonic darted around another corner as Shadow stood his ground and fired a pair of grenades at the oncoming Gizoid one after another. The Gizoid swerved to the side to avoid the first grenade and attempted to block the second with his electromagnetic field, but he was blown backward when the projectile exploded despite his magnetic protection. 

Shadow sidestepped to evade a bolt of lightning the Gizoid fired at him as the corrupted robot returned to his feet. He pointed his Grenade Launcher forward as he prepared to fire another shot, but suddenly, the armored vehicle behind him became magnetized by the Gizoid's lightning, and it was magnetically pulled backward into the ultimate life-form. The vehicle struck Shadow from behind and continued to push the black hedgehog toward the Gizoid, whose hands were coated in electricity as if it were charging another attack. 

Desperate, Shadow pointed his Grenade Launcher at the back tire of the vehicle behind him and fired. The resulting explosion destabilized the vehicle's course and sent Shadow tumbling away. The magnetic vehicle skidded sideways off the road and stuck to the metal frame of a streetside building. As the black hedgehog used his hover shoes to catch his footing on the street, he was greeted with a lightning-fast punch to the face from the Gizoid, who had suddenly closed the distance between them. The blow knocked Shadow down a nearby alley and sent the ultimate life-form flying into a dumpster. 

Suddenly, the armored van began to glow with blue energy. The Gizoid turned toward the truck as it was mysteriously lifted into the air, and the vehicle suddenly came crashing toward him. The Gizoid dodged the vehicle and scanned the area until he found the source of the phenomenon: Silver the Hedgehog, who had appeared from around another street corner and used his psychokinetic powers to hurl the truck. 

A group of pig-faced monsters chased after Silver from around the corner. The mob was armed with pipes, sticks, street signs, and other makeshift weapons, but Silver simply turned around and let himself be surrounded by the creatures. Then, the futuristic hedgehog let out a valorous yell and released a wave of psychic energy from his body. The attack caused the monsters to dissolve into black miasma, and blue energy surrounded their various weapons. 

"I think you've gone far enough!" Silver declared as he turned back toward the Gizoid. With the mob's makeshift weapons swirling around him, Silver lifted himself in the air and flew toward the corrupted robot. The Gizoid, in turn, punched the ground, and a wave of electricity surged through the road to magnetize the bullets that had been fired from Shadow's Gatling Gun. 

The bullets suddenly began flying toward Silver, who psychokinetically swirled his cloud of makeshift weapons around his body to form a barrier that kept the ammunition at bay as he continued his charge. Then, the Gizoid surrounded himself in electrical armor, and he jumped at the silver hedgehog. Silver's cloud of weapons did little to stop the Gizoid's attack, but Silver had surrounded himself with a psychokinetic barrier of blue energy. The two clashed headfirst in midair as their electrical and psychic powers surged through the air around them. 

"Weak," the Gizoid declared as a bolt of lightning suddenly struck the robot from the clouds above. With this newfound surge of power, the Gizoid overcame Silver's psychokinesis and sent the futuristic hedgehog tumbling backward down the street with a blast of electricity. 

Suddenly, a blue blur struck the Gizoid from the side. The robot's face lurched sideways from some unseen impact. He turned his head toward his attacker, but he couldn't see anything. Another blue streak flew by, and the Gizoid was struck from his other side. Seemingly frustrated, the Gizoid began frantically looking in all directions, but he was struck by another blow from an unseen source.  _ Look all you want!  _ Sonic thought to himself confidently.  _ No one can follow my Light Speed Attack!  _ A barrage of other strikes came at the Gizoid from random directions at random intervals. His electromagnetic field did nothing to deter the blows. 

Finally, the Gizoid outstretched his arms and released a shockwave of electricity from his body. Suddenly, Sonic came to a halt as he was shocked by the omnidirectional attack. Numb, Sonic fell to his knees, and the Gizoid prepared to strike, but a field of blue energy surrounded Sonic, and Silver psychokinetically pulled his blue friend backward to dodge the Gizoid's electrical punch, which instead left a small crater in the concrete below. "Thanks for the save!" Sonic told his friend between heavy breaths as he and Silver struggled to their feet despite their numbness. 

Meanwhile, Shadow's head finally cleared. The overpowering smell of rubbish assailed his nostrils, but within this metropolitan dumpster, he looked left, and he saw the red Chaos Emerald. "Well, how about that?" he mused to himself as he smiled and took the mystic gem in hand. Suddenly, curled into a ball, Shadow sprung out from the dumpster and into the air. The Gizoid's attention turned to the ultimate life-form, and he fired a bolt of lightning at the black hedgehog. "Chaos Control!" 

Time stopped. The Gizoid's electric attack arced through the air, but it had yet to reach its target. Shadow, meanwhile, fell to the ground and skated toward the Gizoid on his hover shoes. When he reached the robot, frozen in time, he unloaded a barrage of heavy punches on his opponent before stepping back, grabbing one of the street signs from Silver's barrier from the ground, and striking the Gizoid's head with it. The metal sign bent under the force of the blow, and then Shadow backflipped toward the armored truck, which lay on its side nearby. Shadow retrieved a Bazooka from the vehicle's wreckage, aimed, and fired it at the Gizoid. As the rocket from the Bazooka connected with its target, time unfroze, and the Gizoid was caught at the center of a powerful explosion. 

As the smoke cleared around the Gizoid, Sonic and Silver regrouped with Shadow from behind. The three cautiously eyed the smokescreen, from which emerged the damaged Gizoid. The Gizoid's head had been halfway blown off, and both of his arms were missing. A massive hole was present in the center of the robot's chest. "He doesn't know when to quit!" Silver complained. 

"Then we'll just have to keep hitting it 'til it stays down," Shadow growled. 

"You don't have to tell me twice!" Sonic agreed. 

Then, another shadowy blob fell from the sky and struck the Gizoid. The Gizoid twitched and convulsed unnaturally as malicious, purple liquid began to form inside his mechanical body, and the fluid exploded outward in the form of four serpentine heads: one from each of his shoulders where the robot's arms were missing, one from the hole in his chest, and a final one from the inside of the remaining half of his mechanical head. The sinister fluid leaked into the ground, and dark electricity began to surge through the hydra's draconic heads. 

* * *

Part II: Black Ice

Blaze the Cat awoke in a dazed state. The Chaos Blast used by that newcomer, Saturn, had sent her flying into a nearby cola bar and knocked her unconscious. As her vision cleared, she noticed Toads, Koopas, and other New Donkers were being evacuated to the bar's basement. She pushed away a New Donker that tried to help her to her feet, and she stood of her own accord before stepping outside the bar to see the source of the commotion. 

Thunderous, black clouds sent streaks of lightning through the air overhead. Shadowy blots fell from the sky like rain. Pig-faced monsters chased and tormented civilians at every corner. The full moon, occasionally visible through parts in the thick clouds, was a bloody red. Blaze shook her head as she tried to intake the scene before patting herself down. The Chaos Emerald she had found when she first fell into this world was gone.  _ He must've taken it after that cheap shot.  _

"Was this the 'destiny' that Saturn guy was talking about?" Blaze wondered aloud.  _ This gives me the worst sense of deja vu.  _

Hearing the panicked cries of a nearby cluster of Toads, Blaze jumped in to strike down a group of pig-faced monsters with a series of fiery kicks. The Toads thanked her as she brushed herself off while the monsters dissolved into miasma behind her. Then, Blaze saw something stuck in the street nearby. An icy statue was lying face-first in a hole in the road as if it had fallen from a great height. Despite the damage the impact had done to the street, the statue was perfectly intact. 

A blot of darkness fell down from the sky and crashed into the icy sculpture, which suddenly came to life. "Mario?" Blaze murmured disbelievingly as the icy man pulled himself from the hole in the concrete. Darkness coursed through his icy body, and his round eyes glowed an eerie violet color. 

Ice Mario suddenly fired a barrage of ice balls at Blaze. The lavender cat turned to face the Toads cowering behind her for a moment before conjuring a wall of flame to shield herself and the bystanders. "Get out of here!" she ordered, and the Toads ran away in a panic. Once they were safely indoors, Blaze leapt through her wall of flames and twirled like a ballerina to build momentum. She spun toward Ice Mario as her foot caught aflame, and she struck the corrupted hero with a powerful, fiery kick. Ice Mario, however, seemed unfazed as he simply held up an arm to block the kick. 

Then, darkness pulsing through his arm, Ice Mario retaliated with a powerful punch that sent Blaze rocketing down the street and crashing into a nearby shop. Ice Mario turned away, and he began to walk down the street in search of more civilians to harass. 

In the shop, Blaze pulled herself to her feet. A Koopa, presumably the shopkeep, was cowering behind the counter, through which Blaze had come crashing upon being knocked into the shop. “Unrad, man! Unrad!” the Koopa said with a voice trembling in fear. From the destroyed counter fell a Fire Flower, which Blaze eyed curiously as it landed by her side. 

Ice Mario began to walk toward the Chuckola Cola bar, where a crowd of civilians sought refuge from the chaos outside. However, the icy man's attention was suddenly brought back to the direction of the shop. The corrupted hero turned and saw Blaze the Cat, who had emerged from the store coated in flames. Fire danced around her body like a wild aura, and her lavender fur had become pink. Her purple coat had turned red with a golden hemline, and the cuffs on her gloves and shoes had become magenta flames. 

"You aren't leaving already, are you?" Burning Blaze taunted Ice Mario. "I'm just getting  _ warmed up _ !" 


	38. Espio the Chameleon

My name is Espio the Chameleon. I'm an S-ranked ninja at the Chaotix Detective Agency. What makes me S-ranked, you ask? Well, my friend Charmy says it makes me sound cool, but I take the title very seriously. 

Earlier tonight, I stumbled into New Donk City, a metropolis in another dimension, alongside my friends Sonic and Silver when one of Dr. Eggman's schemes went awry. I've been working all night with Silver and his friend Blaze to locate anyone else who might've ended up here, but our search led us to a monster named Saturn the Hedgehog. Somehow, this Saturn used the Chaos Emeralds to fuse with an ancient evil called Demise, and now he's wreaking havoc on the city.

As a ninja and a detective, I cannot allow such a fate to befall this world's innocents. I do not have the power to stand up to Saturn, but Sonic does. At least, he will if we can locate the seven Chaos Emeralds that have been strewn about this calamitous metroplex. I cannot sense the Chaos Emeralds' presence, but I can trust in my honed sense of intuition. 

As a chameleon, I can utilize my ability to camouflage myself to become invisible. Simultaneously, I can use ninjutsu to mask my aura. Combined, these powers made me virtually undetectable, and I was able to navigate the treacherous city unnoticed. Using my shuriken, I dispatched a group of monsters that had cornered some civilians, and then I dashed onward to continue my search. 

After scoping the town unsuccessfully for some time, I happened upon a purple rabbit carrying a large sack. I recognized this thief from my entrance to New Donk City, and I believed I had seen him at the Olympics sometime as well. This was Nabbit, the most obnoxious thief in this world. Nabbit was eyeing a gem he had retrieved from somewhere nearby: the cyan Chaos Emerald, to be exact. The thieving rabbit bagged the gemstone. 

I made myself visible again and called out to the burglar. "You there! Hand over that emerald!" 

"Oh?" Nabbit called as he looked back to me. "If you want it, you'll just have to catch me!" 

"You would be wise not to underestimate my power," I warned him. "This will be easier if you cooperate. The fate of this city is on the line." 

"Who cares about this city?" Nabbit laughed. "There's plenty more places to steal from!" With that, the purple rabbit darted down the streets. 

Clenching my fist with frustration, I turned invisible again and dashed after him. I was fast. Not as fast as Sonic, mind you, but faster than most. I was not, however, faster than Nabbit. The thieving rabbit darted away at astounding speed. Navigating the crumbling city, he seemed heedless to the various hazards that would have put most runners to a stop. If a sign fell, he simply jumped over it. If lightning struck, he darted to the side. No obstacle so much as slowed him down, and to me, he seemed invulnerable as he sprinted away with his bag.

I chased him back toward the eye of this terrible storm: the destroyed hotel where Calamity Saturn was born. Pig-faced monsters rampaging through the streets seemed to pay the thief no mind as he passed, and I remained undetectable to them with my flawless stealth as I continued my pursuit. Finally, we reached the base of the hotel. I caught the sound of a valiant "Hiyah!" as Link swung his Master Sword at Saturn nearby.

Saturn parried the attack with his dark blade. "You're slow!" the demonic hedgehog mocked as he struck at Link with a heavy swing of his sword. Link blocked the attack with his shield but was still sent skidding backwards across the concrete. A nearby girl dressed in green pointed a pair of crossbows at the monster, and the weapons unloaded a volley of rapid-fire arrows, which Saturn used his oversized sword to block. Then, Saturn raised his hand to the sky, and he clenched his fist. Suddenly, a hail of small meteors pierced the dark clouds overhead and descended toward the battlefield. The flaming stones damaged all manner of nearby buildings as they crashed through the city's infrastructure. Link and the archeress started running in a large circle around Saturn to evade the fiery downpour. 

Undeterred by the sudden meteor shower, Nabbit charged through the battlefield. I continued my pursuit and jumped sideways to avoid an incoming comet. Then, clinging to the wall of a nearby building, I sprinted along the building's wall as I chased the thief. Another meteor crashed into the building overhead, and a slab of concrete from its frame came crashing toward me. Summoning my shuriken, I tossed the throwing star upward at the falling rubble. My weapon sliced clean through the debris, and the two halves of the piece fell harmlessly around me before I jumped back onto the ground and chased Nabbit. 

Nabbit turned another corner once he reached a stoplight further ahead. Heedless of the light's color, a purple convertible sped through the intersection following Nabbit. The convertible's driver was a Koopa child with blue, V-shaped hair, and a smaller Koopa with a multi-colored mohawk stood atop the back of the vehicle. Driving on either side of the pair were a female Koopaling in a kart resembling a wooden ship with wheels and another blue-haired Koopaling driving a Bullet Bill-shaped kart, on the back of which stood a brown-shelled Koopa wielding a large Hammer. 

The group was pursued by a man dressed in yellow. I recognized him as Wario, and he was driving a motorcycle and shouting about their apparent theft of his convertible. The car, however, was not all they had stolen. The convertible's driver was also carrying the yellow Chaos Emerald. As I continued my pursuit, Nabbit noticed the crowd driving behind him, and the rabbit tossed a trio of banana peels in his wake. The female Koopaling's ship-shaped kart spiraled out of control and subsequently crashed after slipping on a rogue peel, but the other drivers managed to avoid the fruity obstacles. 

Afterward, the brown Koopaling threw his Hammer backward at Wario, but, to the Koopalings' collective horror, the hefty man practically unhinged his great jaw and swallowed the weapon whole before slapping his gratuitous belly for emphasis. In response, the yellow-clad cyclist tossed a Bob-omb forward at the Koopalings, and the explosive wrecked the Bullet Bill-shaped vehicle, whose flaming wreckage I swerved to dodge as its inhabitants tumbled onto the streetside. The Koopaling on the back of the convertible retaliated with a bomb of his own, but this too was devoured by the gluttonous biker, who sped beside his stolen car and unleashed an explosive fart that toppled his purple vehicle and knocked the remaining two Koopalings out cold. 

I passed Wario as he stepped off his bike and rolled his car onto its wheels before finding the yellow Chaos Emerald in the driver's seat. The yellow miser's eyes turned to dollar signs as he hopped in the vehicle to claim the mystic jewel, but then a blot of darkness fell from the sky and crashed into the car. Without Wario's compliance, the vehicle sprung to life as a malicious aura emanated from its violet hull, and its eyes shone an evil red before it drove down a different street with both Wario and the yellow emerald inside. Wario gave a panicked scream as I considered pursuing him over Nabbit, but then a voice called, "There you are, you thieving scoundrels!" as Gawain glided down from a nearby building and approached the Koopalings, but his gaze was drawn from the reptilian children to Wario, who, still clutching the yellow Chaos Emerald, was screaming for help. 

As the knuckleheaded knight gave a frustrated yell, I continued my pursuit of Nabbit. I sprinted after him down the streets for a while longer before a bolt of electricity came crashing from my left as I passed an intersection. I slid under the attack and glanced sideways to see Sonic, who was running away from a dark robot from which four serpentine heads had sprouted. Sonic turned around my corner and started running parallel to Nabbit, and I continued after them before the multi-headed robot turned after us. Two of its heads, the ones sprouting from its shoulders in the place of arms, were carrying it across the ground like unnatural legs, and this awkward sprint gave it a speed comparable to ours. 

I made myself visible again before calling to Sonic. "Sonic! Nabbit has the Chaos Emerald!" I called. The blue speedster turned to the purple thief before giving me a thumbs-up and increasing his pace. As Sonic began to gain on Nabbit, the thieving rabbit turned around and continued to run backwards as he opened his bag and unloaded a cluster of Bob-ombs therefrom. The explosives came tumbling down the road toward us. 

Sonic and I ducked and dodged around the Bob-ombs, which continued to roll until they crashed into Dark Hydra. The multi-headed robot shielded itself with two of its serpentine heads, and then it launched itself from the resulting explosion to land at another intersection in front of Nabbit, Sonic, and myself. Dark Hydra's heads roared at us in unison before an eighteen-wheeler came skidding sideways down the intersection and crashed into the monster. 

The truck had been controlled by psychokinetic energy, and Silver suddenly flew from that intersection and exhaled deeply. "Nice shot, Silver!" Sonic complimented as he and I dashed through the intersection after Nabbit. As we passed, however, two of Dark Hydra's serpentine heads burrowed their way through the eighteen-wheeler's trailer and lunged at Sonic and me. I evaded one of the heads, but Sonic was not so lucky. As the hedgehog was suddenly constricted by the serpentine head, made from liquid malice, he called out, "Go after him! I'll catch up!" 

Trusting my friend, I chased Nabbit around another corner. The thief dashed up a fire escape, and I followed him by climbing that building's wall to the rooftop. Thinking I had finally cornered the thief, I approached the rabbit, who backed up to the edge of the roof before jumping down into a street on the other side of the structure. Taking no damage from the fall, the rabbit darted down the street alongside a familiar face: Link was now driving Wario's motorcycle with one hand on the steering and the other on his sword. The crossbow-wielding girl from earlier was sitting on the back of the bike facing away from Link. Saturn flew after the legendary hero and slashed his jagged sword through the air. A crescent beam of darkness spiraled off the black blade and sliced through the air toward Link, who skillfully swerved to dodge.  _ Where did he learn to drive?  _

Putting the thought aside, I turned invisible and masked my aura again before leaping across a series of rooftops after the crowd. The green-hooded girl pointed her dual crossbows at Saturn and fired a pair of explosive arrows that sent the demonic hedgehog crashing to the ground. Screaming with frustration, Saturn punched the road, and a geyser of flame erupted from the ground beneath the motorcycle. The vehicle and its heroic riders were sent tumbling into the air, but Link expertly launched his Clawshot at a streetlight on a nearby street corner, and he retracted the item's chain to pull himself, motorcycle and all, around the corner and back onto the road. A horde of evil monsters awaited the heroes just around that corner, but the viridian girl provided cover fire as Link used his Master Sword to slash through the mob without slowing their vehicle. Saturn chased the two around the corner as I jumped down and bounced off a nearby tarp to continue my pursuit of Nabbit. 

We darted past a cola bar before a large glacier of ice suddenly burst from a nearby distillery. Nabbit continued undeterred while I ducked and jumped to avoid the sudden appearance of frozen spikes. The leporine thief climbed the glacier and jumped to the roof of the distillery, and I pursued by clinging to the building's wall. Moments later, Burning Blaze flew out from the hole the glacier had torn through the building. 

Held aloft by her aura of flame, the pyrokinetic cat launched a blast of fire down the glacier and into the building on which Nabbit and I stood. "Just thaw already!" she shouted, and I saw her target emerge from the building a moment later. Ice Mario, covered in the malicious corruption that had been raining from the sky, skated along the top of the glacier before leaping off one of its spikes and conjuring a jet-black Hammer from ice. Using this Hammer, he smacked Burning Blaze into another building, onto the roof of which Nabbit had just jumped as the thief fled me. 

I leapt onto the roof after Nabbit as the corrupted Ice Mario skated along the street below and left a trail of black ice in his wake. As I jumped after Nabbit onto yet another roof, Burning Blaze crashed through the other side of the previous building and rocketed through the air after Ice Mario. She launched a barrage of fireballs down at her frozen foe, who began to skate in a zigzag pattern to evade the projectiles before turning around and punching the ground. The water in the pipes below the streets suddenly froze solid as another glacier exploded forth from the concrete. Burning Blaze intensified her flaming aura and rocketed straight through the oncoming glacier, which shattered in her wake. I jumped off the roof of my building to evade one of the pieces of the glacier that came flying toward me. 

I landed on a different street as Burning Blaze's battle with Ice Mario took a different direction. To my left was Nabbit, who continued to flee along the road with his sack of stolen goods. Again, I pursued. Screeching down the street toward us was Wario's purple convertible, carrying the man himself and Gawain, who was using his spiked fists to cling for dear life to its hull. "Give me the jewel!" Gawain demanded over the unholy car's roaring engine as he extended a hand toward Wario. Wario hesitated, and I noticed something on a nearby rooftop: two Koopalings, one with crazy eyes and a pink-shelled one with a matching bandana and sunglasses.

The pink Koopaling was aiming a Bill Blaster at the street below. The crazy-eyed Koopaling waved his golden wand, and prismatic magic flowed through the Bill Blaster, which quickly expanded into a massive Banzai Bill Cannon. From this weapon, the pink-shelled Koopaling fired a gargantuan Banzai Bill down at Wario's car. Wario's eyes bulged from his head as he screamed in panic before jumping in front of his vehicle, catching the corrupted car in his bulky hands, and swinging it in circles around himself before hurling it into the oncoming Banzai Bill. Sir Gawain, despite being dizzy and disoriented, managed to leap off the spinning car just before Wario launched it. Both the car and the Banzai Bill exploded, and I shifted sideways to evade one of the car's flaming tires. 

Nabbit and I passed Wario and Gawain as the rooftop Koopalings fled in terror of Wario's display of strength. Wario and Gawain seemed ready to brawl over the yellow Chaos Emerald, but then a dozen dark blots rained down from the sky, and a crowd of malicious monsters crawled out of the blacktop around them. Instantly, the two meatheads went back-to-back and clenched their fists in preparation to throw down with the monstrous mob. 

I chased Nabbit for a while longer before we were confronted again with the unwelcome sight of Dark Hydra, who was pursuing an armored van that drove along the road at an unreasonable speed despite its heavily damaged hull and a missing rear tire. I could barely make out the reflection of the driver in the side-view mirror, and I saw the vehicle was under the control of none other than Dr. Eggman. The mad scientist swerved to the left to evade a bolt of electricity launched from one of Dark Hydra's mouths. 

The back of the armored vehicle was open, and therein was Shadow, who lay in a prone position as he aimed a bipod-mounted anti-material rifle at the pursuing monster. A single shot from the high-powered weapon sent Dark Hydra tumbling backward down the street. Nabbit effortlessly jumped over the oncoming monster while I barely ducked under one of its heads as it rolled over me. Dr. Eggman cheered from the driver's seat of the armored truck, but as soon as he took his hand from the wheel, he hit a patch of black ice, and the vehicle swerved sideways into a guard rail. 

I found the source of the black ice when Ice Mario was blasted through the wall of a nearby building by a ball of flame, but the corrupted Mario skated away into a nearby alley as soon as he appeared. Burning Blaze shouted, "Get back here!" as she came rocketing through the hole in the building in pursuit of her foe, and I continued my own pursuit of Nabbit. 

My chase led me to the front of a building with a neon sign depicting a single letter:  _ W _ . As Nabbit dashed toward the building's door, I assumed he sought refuge inside. Instead, however, he was met by a pair of well-dressed Piantas, who stepped out the door and immediately punched the thieving rabbit in the face. Nabbit was knocked to the ground. 

"What'd we tell youse about comin' back 'ere?" one of the Piantas threatened. 

"Dat's right!" the other added. "Ya gets da punchies!"

In the brief moment Nabbit was knocked down, I was finally able to catch up to him. I made myself visible again. Surrounded by me and the pair of aggressive Piantas, Nabbit looked desperately back and forth as sweat began to form on his brow. "Now," I said as I extended my hand and struggled to catch my breath, "the Chaos Emerald, if you please." 


	39. Dark Metal

Nimue's search for the Chaos Emeralds brought her to the plaza in front of New Donk City Hall. "There it is!" she called as she spotted a blue gem on the ground. The mystic jewel lay next to an inactive automaton, the blue one that resembled Sir Sonic. As Nimue approached, a blot of darkness fell from the sky and injected the automaton with dark power. Suddenly, the metal hedgehog came to life, and he stood up. 

Magenta miasma flowed from the automaton's body. "Ms. Rose," the automaton said in a distorted, mechanical voice. "Why are you here?" 

"I am not she," Nimue corrected as she cautiously halted her approach. "I seek the Chaos Emerald. You are one of the mustached sorcerer's servants, correct?" 

"I see," the automaton replied. "I am Metal Sonic," he introduced himself before continuing: "You remind me of someone I knew." Metal Sonic clenched his robotic hand over his chest. "It breaks my heart." 

The robotic hedgehog lowered his hand, and he fired a beam of energy from his chest at Nimue. Startled, Nimue held the sheathed Excalibur in front of her. She dug her heels into the ground and braced herself as she clutched the sacred sword in both hands and held off the beam. After a moment, the beam dissipated, and Metal Sonic dashed to her side. Nimue ducked under a kick from the supersonic automaton, and she swung her sheathed blade sideways at the robot. Metal Sonic backflipped to dodge the swing before hovering in the air and pointing his arm down at the pink hedgehog. 

Nimue again shielded herself with Excalibur as Metal Sonic fired a volley of lasers at her from his arm. "Sir Metal!" she beckoned her opponent through the volley. "You are being controlled by Demise's dark power! I do not wish to fight you!" 

Metal Sonic curled into a ball and spun down toward Nimue, who knocked him aside with her sheathed sword. The spinning robot remained curled as he landed, and he rolled toward her as his razor-sharp spikes began to tear through the ground below him. Nimue jammed her sheathed weapon downward into the ground at an angle to create a makeshift ramp, and Metal Sonic rolled up the ramp and flew over her head instead of striking her. As he landed behind his foe, the robotic hedgehog uncurled himself. "Do you fear that you will lose?" he asked as he prepared to charge again. 

"I fear not that I might lose to you," Nimue asserted, "only that you might lose yourself!" 

"You may not know," Metal Sonic rebutted, "but I have no 'self.' I am a machine, nothing more." 

"Tell me, then," Nimue began. "Does the heart of a machine break for the one he loves?" 

"I..." Metal Sonic seemed unsure of how to respond. He stared at his own hands for a moment as the darkness around him appeared to subside. Then, a second blot of malicious energy fell from the sky and struck the robot from above. "Argh!" the robot cried in apparent pain. Malicious liquid began to grow around his joints. A violet growth crawled from his metallic back and formed into a vicious, evil eyeball that peered over his head. "Ms. Rose!" Metal Sonic cried as his arms were forced to point toward Nimue again. "Ms. Nimue!" he corrected as he involuntarily armed his laser guns. "Quickly! Take the Chaos Emerald! Run! Leave me here!" 

"I shan't leave you, Sir Metal!" Nimue asserted as she held her sacred sword forward. The corrupted Metal Sonic launched another beam of energy at the swordswoman, but this one was stronger than the first. Though Nimue held Excalibur forward to block it, the sheathed weapon proved an insufficient defense. Nimue was hurled backward as the beam forced the sacred sword from her grip, and she was blasted into a nearby car by the attack. 

Despite her pain, Nimue stepped forward again. She saw Excalibur had been wedged into a large crack in the concrete nearby. Without thinking, she took the sword's hilt and raised it in front of her again. This time, however, the sword came free from its sheath. At long last, Excalibur had been drawn. Nimue gawked speechlessly at the sacred sword for a long moment, but another laser beam from Metal Sonic interrupted her awe. "Rah!" she cried as she swung the holy blade forward. Free from its sheath, Excalibur sliced cleanly through the oncoming beam, and the sacred sword carried Nimue toward her foe. Piercing the wave, Nimue emerged from the beam in front of Metal Sonic, and she swung her sword sideways to slice through the eye that grew from the corrupted robot. 

Following this single swing, the malicious eye dissolved into black miasma, and the corruption enveloping Metal Sonic subsided in moments thereafter. Starstruck, Metal Sonic gazed forward at Nimue. "Come," the swordswoman beckoned as she picked the Chaos Emerald from the ground, "there remains much to be done." 


	40. Trump Card

Chaos Emerald in hand, Luigi sprinted back toward the hotel, where all this madness had suddenly sprung into being. Turning down an intersection, he saw Gawain clutching the yellow Chaos Emerald and approaching from another street. "Ho, there, Sir Green 'Stache!" Gawain called. Not only did he hold the yellow Chaos Emerald in his possession, but he also held a giant boxing glove proudly in the other hand. Luigi recognized it to be from the Jr. Clown Car, the preferred vehicle of Bowser Jr.

“I would be concerned that you fought a child if I didn’t do it all the time myself,” Luigi admitted. “Why did you keep the boxing glove of the Jr. Clown Car?”

“Is that the name of the mighty demon that struck me? Lo, it put on an incredible show, but I emerged triumphant in our noblest of bouts," Sir Gawain declared. “Behold, its severed hand!”

"More importantly, it looks like you got the Chaos Emerald!" Luigi observed. He retrieved his own green Chaos Emerald from his pocket and showed it to the knightly echidna. 

"We must pray the others' ventures were as successful," Sir Gawain offered. 

As the two reached the plaza in front of the hotel, they noticed Saturn and Link were nowhere to be found. However, the clouds had parted overhead in a circle to allow a beam of crimson moonlight to shine down onto the top of what remained of the hotel. After a moment, Sonic darted from down a nearby street and joined them. "Guys! You got the emeralds!" the blue speedster cheered. 

"I trust your venture was equally successful, Sir Sonic?" Gawain asked. 

"Eh-heh-heh, about that..." Sonic trailed off as he scratched his quills. 

"I've got one," a deep voice interjected as Espio suddenly faded into view nearby. He showed them the cyan Chaos Emerald. 

Luigi counted his green, Gawain’s yellow, and Espio’s cyan Chaos Emerald. “Three, we need... thirteen more. Because there are sixteen total, right?”

"Seven," Espio corrected, "there are seven total." 

"We're missing four," Sonic added. 

Suddenly, an armored van came screeching around a nearby corner. Luigi, Sonic, Espio, and Gawain scattered to evade the oncoming vehicle, which ineffectually slammed on its brakes before crashing into the fountain outside the hotel. Visibly dazed, Dr. Eggman opened the driver-side door of the vehicle and stepped out. He held the purple Chaos Emerald forward wordlessly as he tried and failed to catch his breath. Simultaneously, Shadow jumped down from the back of the van. He was clutching the red Chaos Emerald in one hand. 

“Well, that van has seen better days...” Luigi remarked at the totaled vehicle that had been needlessly tossed into the fountain.

"That makes five," Espio counted. 

"You guys are awesome!" Sonic cheered. 

"Don't thank us, yet," Shadow warned as his eyes continued to stare down the street from which they'd come. "We brought company." 

A bionic roar harmonized through the streets as Dark Hydra came barreling into the plaza. The multi-headed abomination landed on his robotic feet after carrying himself on the heads protruding from his arms. Then, his four serpentine heads pointed at the group and each launched a bolt of electricity at the heroes. Sonic, Shadow, and Espio dashed out of the way of the electricity that arced through the air toward them, but Luigi simply screamed in fear and covered his face with his hat. 

To his surprise, however, he was unharmed. When Luigi raised his green cap, he saw a knight in shining armor standing protectively in front of him. Nimue, the pink hedgehog, was now clad from head to toe in golden armor. In her hand, she held the sacred sword Excalibur, fully unsheathed; she had used the holy blade to intercept Dark Hydra's attack. "Your Ladyship..." Gawain gawked as he beheld the golden knight. 

"Here," Excalibur-Nimue offered as she raised the blue Chaos Emerald in her free hand, "I believe this will help." Alongside the armored hedgehog, Metal Sonic had entered the plaza. The robot returned to Eggman's side, where he stood quietly and dutifully.

"We have the six I used to power the Dimension Grappler," Dr. Eggman observed after patting Metal Sonic on the back. "Those are the six Saturn scattered throughout the city, but we still haven't found the seventh. In fact, as far as I can tell, no one has seen that Chaos Emerald since we came to this world..." 

"It  _ is  _ here, right?" Gawain asked the mad scientist. 

"Saturn said he sensed all seven of them in this city when he inhabited my body," Shadow added, "but we can't be certain that he was telling the truth." 

"And now we have this guy to deal with again," Sonic sighed as he turned to face Dark Hydra. The corrupted Gizoid's serpentine heads thrashed violently through the air. After a moment, more malicious liquid oozed from the Gizoid's robotic body and enveloped it completely. Two reptilian legs and a long, serpentine tail grew from the malice covering its lower body, and an evil, yellow eye opened on its chest. 

“Well,” began Luigi, rolling up his sleeve as he took his first few steps towards the newly-evolved Hydra, “I think we all know what we have to do now...” Luigi retreated in the opposite direction as fast as his legs could carry him. “Run! Run far away! Run for your lives!”

"Hold fast, ye valiant knight!" Sir Gawain called as he extended an armored hand and caught Luigi by the scruff of his shirt. 

"What are this creature's weaknesses?" Espio asked calmly as he moved next to Shadow. 

"None," Shadow replied matter-of-factly. "We've barely been able to scratch it since that goo took over its body." 

"Aim for the eye!" Excalibur-Nimue suggested as she held her sword aloft. 

“That’s a good plan,” Luigi commented. “Rhymes with, ‘We’re gonna die!’”

"Where's that psychic hedgehog when you need him?" Dr. Eggman complained.

"He's helping Blaze," Sonic replied. "We'll just need to handle this without him!" 

"I will assist," Metal Sonic asserted as he stepped forward. 

"If only we had the seventh Chaos Emerald..." Shadow lamented as he clenched his teeth. 

"Is this what you're looking for?" an unfamiliar voice asked. Suddenly, a new challenger approached: a teenage boy wearing a long, black coat and a black-and-white masquerade mask swung into the plaza by a grappling hook. He landed between Dark Hydra and the others, and he held out the silver Chaos Emerald in his red-gloved hand with a confident smirk. 

“Well, I never saw this coming...” Luigi thought aloud; his eyes were fixed on the strange newcomer in black. “Who are you? Where have you been all this time?”

"Joker," the newcomer replied curtly. "I got held up by a spiky, fire-breathing turtle." 

"I like his style," Shadow noted with a smile. 

“You mean...  _ Bowser _ ?” exclaimed the green plumber. “What does he do besides cause trouble for heroes? What a loser! Wait, uh, you  _ are  _ a hero, right?”

"If you can fight, your help would be appreciated," Espio added. 

"Take it," Joker insisted as he tossed the silver gem back to Sonic. "You need it to save this city, right? Then leave this one to me." 

"This does not look to be the sort of enemy you can face alone!" Sir Gawain warned the newcomer. 

"I'm never alone," Joker replied with a smile as he pulled down on the edge of his red glove and slowly walked toward Dark Hydra. The creature's four heads extended toward the newcomer and struck at him like venomous snakes. " _ Persona _ !" A dark angel suddenly materialized beside the newcomer. This being had tanish-beige armor and a golden helm from which a pair of curved horns protruded. Six black wings, three of which were feathery while three resembled a bat's, extended from the Persona's back, and he carried an elaborately-designed pistol with a rifle-length barrel in one hand. The being shot one of Dark Hydra's heads out of the air. The head disintegrated under the impact, and he clutched the other three heads in the claws of his free hand. "Pillage him!" Joker beckoned, and the Persona fired another round through the eye at the center of Dark Hydra's chest. 

Dark Hydra writhed in pain as the eye disintegrated. Then, the head that had disintegrated regrew from the abomination's body alongside another, fifth head. These two new heads opened their mouths and each fired a bolt of lightning at Joker. "Kohryu!" the newcomer shouted as his Persona suddenly vanished and was replaced by a golden, serpentine dragon. The dragon coiled around Joker's body and shielded him from the oncoming lightning, which had no effect on the scaly serpent. "Go!" Joker called back to the others. "I've got this!" 

Luigi politely doffed his hat to Joker before straightening it on his head in a composed manner. He took in a deep breath; he cleared his throat. Luigi screamed and practically flew away from the battlefield. Sonic and the others followed closely behind. They had seen enough to know this "Joker" could handle himself. 

When the group reached the other side of the hotel, Sonic held the silver Chaos Emerald Joker had given him forward. Shadow held his red Chaos Emerald next to the silver one. Luigi, Nimue, Eggman, Gawain, and Espio presented their Chaos Emeralds in a circle. "Ready?" Sonic asked Shadow, and the ultimate life-form nodded. 

“So, now that we’ve gathered all of them,” began Luigi, scratching his nose, “I’m not exactly sure what happens next. Like, when you gather the Chaos Emeralds, do they summon a magical wish-granting dragon?”

"Not exactly," Shadow said with a chuckle. "Just watch this." 

The seven Chaos Emeralds floated up from their bearers' hands and began hovering in a circle. Sonic and Shadow stepped forward into the center of the ring, and they began to float off the ground as well. Sonic's blue fur faded to gold, and his quills spiked upward as his eyes turned red. Shadow's black fur became gold as well, but his quills and already-red eyes remained unchanged. "This power!" Gawain marveled. 

"Super Sonic," Dr. Eggman said aloud. 

"We're going to take down Saturn and put an end to this," Super Sonic declared. "The rest of you help the city. Give backup to Joker and Blaze if they end up needing it." Gawain, Espio, Eggman, and Metal Sonic nodded in agreement. 

"I'm going with you," Excalibur-Nimue asserted. Her golden armor, which had been magically provided by the sword Excalibur, lifted her into the air beside the other superpowered hedgehogs. 

Luigi looked at these  _ hedgehogs _ : heroes, all of them. He paused for a moment as the words of a new friend echoed through his mind.  _ "Don’t die out there, hero!" _ That word—that name—these hedgehogs lived up to the expectations. And so would he. Luigi closed his eyes, inhaled slowly, and then gradually let go of the breath. He dug into his pocket and retrieved the Invincibility Leaf. Luigi clenched his white-gloved fist around it. His clothes turned gold and white as alabaster fox ears sprouted from his cap, a tail of matching color sprouting from his pants.

"Let's-a go," White Fox Luigi agreed. 


	41. The Master of Chaos

Super Sonic, Super Shadow, Excalibur-Nimue, and White Fox Luigi—the four heroes flew into the air and slowly landed atop what remained of the hotel. Fire had consumed the better part of the building. At the center of the ruined roof sat Saturn the Hedgehog. His fiery quills flickered in the crimson moonlight as he playfully tossed an ocarina into the air and caught it time and again. At his feet were Link—the hero of the Triforce of Courage—and a girl clad in green. The two heroes lay unconscious in a puddle of blood. "I knew you'd come," Saturn asserted as he crushed Link's ocarina in his hand and stood up, stepping on the wounded hero as he approached. "You know," he mused as he flourished the dark sword of Demise, "returning to my rightful place as a god feels... pretty good." Then, the demonic hedgehog smiled toothily, and the flames on his quills flared up. "But not nearly as good as what I'm going to do to all of you." 

"Someone's a sore loser," Super Sonic mocked with a confident grin. 

"Oh, you have no idea," Saturn replied, "but not as sore as you'll be." 

“Your game ends with us; this is your last life!” White Fox Luigi boldly proclaimed as he put his leading foot forward despite every fear in his mind.

"Monsters like you are all the same," Excalibur-Nimue asserted. "You'll rise and fall, like the Black Knight and the Dark Queen rose and fell." 

"You could've lived a normal life," Shadow accused. "You finally got a new body, but that wasn't enough for you." 

"I was born to be infinite, Shadow," Saturn retorted. "Godhood is my destiny, my  _ birthright _ ! This world, your world, Hyrule, Camelot—they'll all tremble before me!" 

"I’m-a done trembling!” Luigi shot back as he armed his Hammer and enchanted it with the power of his Thunderhand.

"As a matter of fact," Super Sonic added, "I don't see anyone here trembling before your so-called godhood." 

"And that," Saturn replied, "is exactly why you will be the  _ first  _ to die." Saturn raised his sword skyward, and a bolt of lightning struck the pitch-black blade. As electricity surged through the weapon, Saturn swung the blade forward, and a slash of electricity flew through the air toward them. Excalibur-Nimue stepped forth and blocked the projectile with Excalibur while the others jumped over the attack. Super Sonic and Super Shadow curled into balls and spun downward at Saturn, who released an aura of dark flames from his body to blow the oncoming hedgehogs backward. 

Past the two hedgehogs and through the malicious flames flew White Fox Luigi, whose Hammer was charged by a dose of electric power. “Thunderrrrr!” Lightning bursting from his Hammer, White Fox Luigi swung at the demonic hedgehog. Saturn, however, parried the attack with his dark sword. He smiled bestially as electricity surged through their weapons and into the fiendish hedgehog's body. 

"Get wrecked!" the demonic hedgehog shouted as he punched White Fox Luigi in the stomach with his free hand. All of the electricity surging through their bodies flowed into the punch, and the alabaster plumber streaked across the roof and off the side of the building with sparks of lightning in his wake. 

Excalibur-Nimue swung her sacred sword to shatter the slash of lightning she had been blocking, and her golden armor carried her through the air toward Saturn. "Cha!" she shouted as she swung her blade at the demon. Saturn blocked a flurry of incoming blows from the gallant swordswoman. 

"The Master Sword couldn't stop me!" Saturn declared as he parried slash after slash. "What makes you think that sharpened doorstop will?" After blocking another attack, Saturn caught Excalibur mid-swing in his free hand. "Know your place, false king!" A wide swing from Saturn's dark sword sent Excalibur-Nimue flying backward, but her golden armor protected her from the evil sword's sinister edge. 

Saturn jumped into the air to dodge Super Sonic, who had curled into a ball and spun toward him again across the ground, before firing a blast of dark energy from his free hand down into the superpowered hedgehog. Super Sonic was sent crashing down through the roof of the hotel and into what remained of the flaming floors below. 

"Chaos Control!" Super Shadow exclaimed. Time froze around the ultimate life-form. Then, he flew toward Saturn and drew back his fist in preparation to strike the demon. To his horror, however, the fiend's eyes shifted in his direction. "What?"

Despite time being frozen around them, Saturn suddenly gripped Super Shadow by the neck. "Did you forget who I am, Brother?" Saturn chided. "I was  _ born  _ from this power! I am the Master of Chaos!" Time unfroze around the brothers as Super Shadow's Chaos Control ended. 

White Fox Luigi jumped through the new hole in the roof below Saturn to deliver an uppercut to the fiendish hedgehog's chin. Saturn was sent rocketing skyward under the force of the attack, and he released his grip on Super Shadow as well. Suddenly, Super Sonic warped behind their demonic foe using Chaos Control, and he kicked Saturn back downward. As Saturn fell, Excalibur-Nimue flew at him from the side and swung her sword. Saturn blocked Excalibur with his own sword but was still sent flying diagonally down and sideways. Super Shadow, meanwhile, had been charging chaotic energy in his hand. "Chaos..." the ultimate life-form exhaled as he suddenly warped behind his brother. "Lance!"

A beam of red energy flew from Super Shadow's hand and rocketed sideways over the city with Saturn at its tip. The beam finally crashed when it struck New Donk City Hall, and it exploded violently into chaotic energy. "Watch where you're aiming!" Super Sonic chastised his rival. 

“Professor E. Gadd!” White Fox Luigi exclaimed worriedly. “He has your ticket home!”

"You could've said so sooner," Super Shadow sighed. 

“You mean that nobody  _ told  _ you he was in there?” White Fox Luigi shouted. A glare formed on his face, and it was aimed right at Super Sonic, who chuckled awkwardly in reply. 

"I..." a demonic voice boomed throughout the city... "will not be bested... by you...  _ again _ !" Saturn emerged from the side of New Donk City Hall in an explosion of demonic flames. He raised his free hand into the air and screamed furiously. " _ Noooooooooo _ !" Slowly, the clouds overhead parted as a gigantic meteor—one big enough to level all of New Donk City—broke into the atmosphere. "I'll build my empire here, starting from the ashes of this city!" 

“Oh no, oh no, no, no, _ oh no _ —” stammered White Fox Luigi, growing louder as the meteor, coated in flames and death, rapidly approached the metropolis. 

"We've got this!" another voice interjected. Super Silver, the futuristic hedgehog empowered by the seven Chaos Emeralds, flew past the four heroes. Using his psychokinetic powers, he carried Gawain, Metal Sonic, and Espio in veils of golden light around him. Burning Blaze, propelling herself with her pyrokinesis, rocketed upward from the city as well and joined her futuristic friend. 

"Sir Sonic charged me with protecting this city!" Sir Gawain proclaimed. "It shan't be felled by a falling rock of all things!" 

"Ms. Nimue, allow me to assist," Metal Sonic decreed. 

"Vector's never going to believe this..." Espio sighed to himself. 

"Focus on the big bad!" Burning Blaze instructed the four heroes. "Leave this to us!" 

"Meddlesome flies!" Saturn screeched, and he swung his dark sword forward. A barrage of dark blasts flew from the blade toward the reinforcements moving to intercept his meteor. 

"Make haste!" Excalibur-Nimue decreed, and the four heroes flew from the roof of the hotel toward the oncoming barrage. 

Two massive bolts of energy, one slightly more elevated than the other, came Luigi's way, but his raw determination was unwavering. White Fox Luigi flew towards the lower blast with his Hammer in tow and deflected it back Saturn’s way. Spinning to the upper blast, he unfurled his yellow cape and swung the enchanted item at the bolt of oncoming destruction. The projectile was returned to the direction of its sender. Excalibur-Nimue, meanwhile, tore through a number of bolts with her sacred sword while Super Sonic honed in and bounced off a multitude of projectiles to destroy them. 

Super Shadow hovered in the air behind the other three heroes. Any of the projectiles that got past them were now flying his way. "Hmph," the ultimate life-form started, "is that all you've got?" Super Shadow's eyes widened, and chaotic energy was expelled from his body in all directions. "Chaos Blast!" The spherical attack deterred the last of the barrage, and Super Silver continued his ascent toward the meteor undeterred with the others in tow. 

As Super Silver and company reached the meteor, the futuristic hedgehog surrounded the apocalyptic projectile with golden, psychokinetic energy. He stopped in midair as he held his hands forward and visibly struggled to hold the meteor aloft. Gawain, Metal Sonic, and Espio were sent flying upward into the incoming calamity, and they pressed forward against Super Silver's veil of energy to physically hold the meteor back. Burning Blaze propelled herself forward and pressed her fiery body against the meteor to add her power to the group's. 

"All of you are inferior!" Saturn declared. " _ I  _ am the supreme begin!  _ I  _ am the ultimate life-form!" Saturn prepared to swing his dark blade, overflowing with electric power! "Perish!" 

“Excuse me.” Saturn felt something gently tug at one of the quills on his back. 

Saturn turned his head toward this newcomer. A tiny, insignificant Shy Guy had apparently been seeking refuge on this floor of the skyscraper, most of which was now aflame. Saturn's eyes were visibly bloodshot. One of them twitched as his mind completely failed to process the audacity of this creature. "Can..." Saturn started before nearly exploding with rage. "Can I help you, with something?" he asked through clenched teeth. 

“Oh, well, not really, I was just thinking that this was the perfect weather for a distraction,” the guy replied shyly. 

"A dis—" Saturn was interrupted when Super Sonic crashed into the demonic hedgehog at hypersonic speed. Gripping Saturn's waist, Super Sonic flew through the back of New Donk City Hall and carried the demonic hedgehog into the air outside the skyscraper. Using Chaos Control, Super Sonic warped Saturn and himself to White Fox Luigi, Super Shadow, and Excalibur-Nimue. "Shadow! Get us out of the city! There's too much collateral!" 

"Chaos Control!" Super Shadow shouted without hesitation. Saturn pushed Super Sonic off him, but he and the four heroes were nonetheless teleported elsewhere. Suddenly, the group found themselves surrounded by the starry sky. The ground beneath them curved visibly and was surrounded by a thin veil of golden light as flames blazed along their new battleground's horizon. They were standing on the back of the meteor Saturn had summoned. 

"Your tricks won't save you!" Saturn screamed as he punched the ground, and geysers of flame erupted beneath each of the four heroes. Each of them was blasted into the air, and Saturn launched a bolt of darkness from his hand that sent Super Shadow flying backward. Then, the demonic hedgehog leapt into the air and gripped White Fox Luigi by the tail before swinging the superpowered plumber around into Excalibur-Nimue and tossing both of them into the ground below. Then, he grabbed Super Sonic by the throat and forced the golden hedgehog down into the ground. Standing over the shimmering hero, Saturn continued to press downward on Super Sonic's neck as the rocky ground cracked and caved beneath them. "Hahahahaha!" Saturn held his dark sword aloft and prepared to thrust its blade down into Super Sonic.   
"Chaos Spear!" Super Shadow cried before launching a volley of yellow projectiles from his hand at Saturn. The demonic hedgehog jumped off Super Sonic to evade the attacks, but White Fox Luigi deflected the volley back at Saturn by spinning around with his Hammer like a cyclone. Saturn in turn blocked the redirected volley with his dark sword, but as he did, Super Shadow curled into a ball and flew toward White Fox Luigi. The superpowered plumber swung his Hammer into Super Shadow to bat the golden hedgehog toward Saturn, who sidestepped to evade the supersonic projectile. Then, Excalibur-Nimue struck Super Shadow with the flat of her sacred sword to bat him toward Saturn from behind, and this time, the golden hedgehog connected with the back of his fiendish foe. After striking Saturn with a powerful kick, Super Shadow landed between White Fox Luigi and Excalibur-Nimue, and he helped Super Sonic back to his feet. 

"See that, Saturn?" Super Sonic said as he caught his breath. "That's why you'll never beat us. Unlike you, we have each other. You've only ever had yourself!" 

"Heh-heh-ha-ha-ha!" Saturn began to laugh uncontrollably. "You're right, Sonic. You're absolutely right." 

"Umm, guys," Super Sonic whispered to his friends, "he's not supposed to agree with me here. Little help?" 

"You smell funny!" White Fox Luigi insulted their opponent. 

"What he said!" Excalibur-Nimue agreed. 

"You guys are hopeless," Super Shadow sighed. 

"The Chaos Emeralds are truly magnificent," Saturn mused. "Not only was I able to merge with the power of Demise," he shared, "but I fused with another nearby power as well." 

Saturn stuck his sword into the ground at his feet before outstretching his hands in a mocking pose. Two balls of swirling light appeared at his sides, and from these luminescent portals emerged a pair of dark hedgehogs. One had bright-red fur and thin quills tipped with black fur in a flame-like pattern; his eyes were yellow, and his pupils were slit. The other hedgehog looked identical to Shadow, but his fur was dark red, and where Shadow's fur had red streaks, this hedgehog had golden streaks in a fiery pattern similar to the first hedgehog; a black-and-golden aura surrounded this second hedgehog. These were Infinite Saturn—the form Saturn's original body took after absorbing the seven Chaos Emeralds—and Shadurn—the form he took when he had possessed Shadow and utilized a Super form and Dark form simultaneously. 

"Who are those?" Excalibur-Nimue asked. 

“They look like cosplayers,” White Fox Luigi commentated. “They’re not fans, so my brother would say they’re pure evil...”

"Meet Shadurn," Saturn introduced the twilight hedgehog on his right, "and Infinite Saturn," he concluded as he gestured to the left. 

"He must've fused with the Dimension Grappler when he took this form," Super Shadow deduced. 

"Then these are other forms of Saturn from alternate dimensions!" Super Sonic exclaimed. 

"Shadurn, Infinite," Saturn beckoned his other selves, "let's end them." 

"Fine by me!" Infinite Saturn cackled. 

"Let's get this over with," Shadurn agreed. In the blink of an eye, Infinite Saturn warped behind the group of heroes with Shadurn in tow. "Chaos Blast!" Shadurn declared. Infinite Saturn vanished as soon as he had appeared, but the heroes were not so lucky. 

A massive explosion of chaotic energy engulfed the ground around them. Super Shadow had managed to warp away at the last second, but he was immediately met by Infinite Saturn, who attempted to punch him back into the explosion. Super Shadow dodged the blow and struck back with his own fist, but Infinite Saturn warped behind him again and kicked the superpowered hedgehog to the ground. Excalibur-Nimue, meanwhile, skidded across the ground as she was thrown aside by the force of the blast. Her cracked armor began to fall apart around her body as the original Saturn twirled toward her, clutching his sword in his hands to spiral like a buzz-saw. Excalibur-Nimue struggled to parry each of the spinning attacks.

Shadurn, meanwhile, loomed over Super Sonic and White Fox Luigi, who were panting on the ground after taking the full force of his Chaos Blast. "Chaos Eruption!" Shadurn declared before punching the ground. Quickly, Super Sonic grabbed White Fox Luigi and flew into the air to evade a series of explosions that rippled through the ground around Shadurn. Super Sonic's flight was interrupted, however, by the sudden appearance of Infinite Saturn, who punched the superpowered hedgehog in the face.

Super Sonic, holding White Fox Luigi tightly, swung his friend around in a full circle at Infinite Saturn, who warped elsewhere to evade the blow. After continuing his spin, Super Sonic hurled White Fox Luigi downward toward the original Saturn, who was still sword-fighting with Excalibur-Nimue. White Fox Luigi used his fox tail to whip around in midair and threw his Hammer at Saturn with all his might. Saturn dodged the attack, but Excalibur-Nimue caught Luigi's Hammer in midair and smashed it into Saturn's head. The impact forced Saturn downward into a small hole in the ground before a Chaos Lance from Shadurn struck Excalibur-Nimue from afar and sent the knight flying off the edge of the meteor. Then, Super Shadow warped beside his alternate-reality counterpart and tried to shoot Shadurn with a Chaos Spear at point-blank range. Shadurn moved his head to the side to dodge the attack before punching at Super Shadow, who blocked the blow and transitioned into melee combat with this possessed version of himself.

The original Saturn burst from the ground below White Fox Luigi and held the white-clad plumber aloft by his overalls. "I've heard about you, 'Green 'Stache'," the living calamity started. "You're not this world's hero. You're no superstar. You're just his baby brother, a shadow of something much greater. That's the difference between you and me. I’m superior to my older brother in every way; whereas, you simply follow in your brother's footsteps. That is why you failed. That is why you will  _ die _ ."

Before Saturn could stab White Fox Luigi, however, Super Sonic barreled into him at the speed of light. Saturn was forced along the rocky ground for a few yards before he dug his sword into the meteor beneath him and held his ground. "Luigi's not just a younger brother!" Super Sonic declared as he tried in vain to push Saturn back. "He's a friend!"

On cue, White Fox Luigi flew from behind Super Sonic and grabbed Saturn. Together, the two overpowered this living calamity, and they pushed Saturn into the air before carrying him off the edge of the meteor. "Let go, you annoying rodent!" Saturn protested. 

The two heroes forced Saturn downward back into the cityscape in an attempt to crush him with the force of their fall, but the two other Saturns—Infinite Saturn and Shadurn—appeared in their path. "Chaos Shockwave!" the two called in unison as red energy expanded from their bodies and interrupted the heroes' descent. The blast knocked Super Sonic and White Fox Luigi to the ground. The original Saturn was knocked to the earth as well, but his twin selves pulled him to his feet. 

Super Shadow warped beside Super Sonic and White Fox Luigi with Excalibur-Nimue in tow. "Well, that didn't work," Super Sonic complained with a huff as the four heroes stared down the calamitous trio. "Think you can take us back to the meteor, bud?" 

"No can do," Super Shadow replied as his golden fur blinked black, "I'm running out of juice." 

"Same here," Super Sonic admitted as his golden fur momentarily faded to blue. 

"I believe I am reaching my limits as well," Excalibur-Nimue admitted as another portion of her cracked armor fell to the ground and dissolved into particles of light. 

"Luckily, I can do this all day!" White Fox Luigi insisted. However, as soon as he did, his alabaster colors faded. In the next moment, he was simply Fox Luigi again. “Heh?” A blast of malice from Saturn's hand sent the foxy plumber rocketing through the city. 

"Luigi!" Super Sonic cried.

"Shouldn't you be more worried about yourself?" Saturn chastised. The six hedgehogs glared at each other in groups: one of light and one of darkness. The heroic hedgehogs were at the end of their ropes, but the demonic hedgehogs seemed to have power to spare. 

"At this rate," Excalibur-Nimue began, "we shall need a miracle." 

On cue, three figures descended from the heavens. Shrouded in Super Silver's golden energy, Burning Blaze, Sir Gawain, and Metal Sonic landed on the ground between the groups of hedgehogs. "Coming right up, Your Ladyship," Sir Gawain acquiesced with a confident smirk. 

"Execute miracle.exe," Metal Sonic added. 

"Silver sensed you guys needed our help," Burning Blaze clarified. "He said he can hold off the meteor by himself for at least a little bit." 

"And just what do you think you can do?" Infinite Saturn laughed at the newcomers. 

"You're no match for us," Shadurn mocked. 

"Behold!" Sir Gawain replied with a swipe of his fist. 

"System upgrade acquired," Metal Sonic declared. 

Suddenly, the seven Chaos Emeralds appeared from elsewhere, and the mystic gemstones swirled around Sir Gawain and Metal Sonic. The knightly echidna's fur turned bright pink, and the robotic hedgehog's blue paint became golden. Pink and gold auras surrounded the pair of heroes, respectively, while Burning Blaze's own fiery aura intensified around her. 

"I see," the original Saturn mused as he beheld Super Gawain and Super Metal Sonic. "In that case..." The demonic hedgehog spread his arms again in a mocking pose, and a large portal of light appeared beneath him as he and his other selves floated into the air. The portal expanded and expanded until it spanned more than a hundred feet across the ground. Buildings sunk into the swirling light as Super Sonic, Super Shadow, and Excalibur-Nimue flew off to keep nearby New Donkers from falling to the radiant vortex. From the dimensional portal emerged Silver Madness—the colossal, metallic juggernaut with the upper body of a robotic, four-armed dragon and the lower body of a tank. Green shards of the Master Emerald were embedded in its body, and a veil of chaotic energy surrounded its form. 

"Silver Madness!" Saturn decreed as he turned toward this new robot. "Serve me, and bring calamity to this world!" The demonic hedgehog launched a blot of dark power into the gargantuan machine, whose body quickly became corrupted with the demon's malice. Magenta miasma flowed from its circuits and hull, and its orangish eyes became a vicious red. The metal dragon roared robotically, and its mechanical shriek shook the entirety of the city. 

Luigi, meanwhile, tumbled through the city. He crashed through several broken street lamps. The poor, green plumber broke through a stop sign. He could not perceive his environment at the rate at which he flew. At the end of his uncontrollable hurtling through the wreckage of New Donk City, he crashed head-first through the city hall’s remains. He’d lost his Fox form upon impact.

“Luigi?” he heard a familiar, old voice call.

_ Oh no. _

Battered and bruised, Luigi dared to open his eyes. Before him stood the dreaded old coot, whose Gadd-branded plane was responsible for transporting Luigi to this hellhole in the first place.

“It’s you, my boy!” E. Gadd exclaimed. He had a suitcase and an umbrella in hand. Next to him stood Charizard, who had a black and blue saddle strapped to his back. “I was just about to leave this crazy place! I even brought this here umbrella for the weather; it’s raining cats and dogs out there! I didn’t expect to see a green, mustachioed man bursting through the wall.”

“H... Hello, professor,” Luigi hesitantly stammered out, “I need your help.”

“Oh-ho-ho!” E. Gadd laughed as he leaned on the Charizard like a firm wall. “So it would seem! You crazy younguns don’t normally break down buildings to come see me, so this must be important!”

“Char!” the Charizard seemed to growl in agreement, but it was unclear if he understood the situation.

“We’re all gonna die!” Luigi shouted as he flailed his legs on the outside of the wall. “We’re doomed!  _ Doomed _ ! We’re fighting this horrible, scary demon-thing from another dimension, and he summoned other horrible demon-things from other dimensions! And I heard this giant roar while I tumbled over here! It sounded like a dragon! I don’t know!”

“Oh, so that’s what that sound was!” E. Gadd realized. “I thought it was the Super Mario Players upstairs! They've been making quite a racket today, don’t you know? Tut-tut, dear Luigi! I have the perfect, dragon-slaying remedies for just such an occasion!” Charizard looked offended for a moment before E. Gadd assured him, "Now, Charizard, don't worry. You're not a Dragon-type." 

The mad scientist opened his suitcase of ridiculous items and wacky inventions. He dug past the Gameboy Horror and the Dual Scream before acquiring a Super Star and a Mega Mushroom. Luigi gazed at these two superpowered items. “You just  _ have  _ these?”

"They're for research, my boy!" the kooky professor defended. “And it just so happens that they’re excellent for a kaiju fight! Now, go get 'em, sonny! Nobody will complain about kicking around a bunch of broken buildings!”

Outside, the heroes were struggling to hold their own against the three Saturns and Silver Madness. Excalibur-Nimue blocked a swing from the original Saturn's sword as Super Gawain destabilized Silver Madness's high-velocity assault with an Earthquake Punch. Super Sonic and Super Metal Sonic teamed up against Infinite Saturn with a barrage of punches, which Infinite Saturn warped from side to side to evade before dispelling them with a Chaos Shockwave. Super Shadow struggled to hold his own with a Chaos Blast, which was clashing against another Chaos Blast from his alternate-reality counterpart, Shadurn. Burning Blaze absorbed a firestorm summoned by the original Saturn before redirecting the demonic flames into the roaring mouth of Silver Madness.

The battle was interrupted by the sound of heavy footsteps. With each step, the blacktop shook underfoot. All eyes turned to the source: Mega Luigi. The gargantuan plumber approached through the decimated streets before retrieving a Super Star from his pocket and absorbing its power. "Let's-a go!" he shouted as glistening light surrounded his towering body. Now invincible, Mega Luigi charged forward down the street toward the battle. Silver Madness met the colossal plumber with a supersonic charge, but Mega Luigi caught the draconic juggernaut head-on and grappled the silver tank to the ground. After Silver Madness fell prone, Mega Luigi jumped above the silver dragon before stomping the mechanical beast into the ground. Following up, he flipped off Silver Madness and landed on the corrupted machine again with a second colossal stomp.

The Saturns stared in rage at this gargantuan interloper. Super Sonic and Super Shadow finally returned to their normal forms. "Luigi, let's hurry and end this!" Sonic asserted as he jumped into the jolly green giant's hands.

"Okey-dokey!" Mega Luigi agreed as he jumped into the sky. The massive hero's superpowered leap carried him into space, where he grabbed a pair of Super Stars floating just outside the planet's atmosphere. Twirling mid-jump, Mega Luigi threw one of the Super Stars back down toward New Donk City as Sonic jumped from his shoulder and rode atop the golden projectile. Mega Luigi, correspondingly, shrunk to normal size as his invincibility wore off, and he landed atop the second Super Star, upon which he rode after Sonic.

The two streaked down from the sky like shooting stars. Super Silver and Espio gave them a strange look as the heroes flew past the meteor they were suspending above the metropolis. Below, Super Gawain and Super Metal Sonic were struggling to hold Silver Madness at bay while Shadow, blinking in and out of his Super form, continued to clash with Shadurn. Burning Blaze had somehow trapped Infinite Saturn in a ball of lavender flames while Excalibur-Nimue's sacred sword pressed against the dark blade of Demise, wielded by the original Saturn. "Did that letter opener make you think you were worthy?" Saturn mocked the pink hedgehog as he pressed his sword harder against hers. "Every universe's version of you is the same! You are weak, meaningless!" 

"My sword doesn't make me worthy!" the Lady of the Lake retorted. "My friends do!" 

As Excalibur-Nimue pushed off Saturn's swing, Sonic and Luigi flew past her on their Super Stars and crashed into the original Saturn. Each gripping one of the calamitous hedgehog's arms, they carried the demon skyward toward the roof of a certain building.

"Link..." a familiar voice called to the green-clad hero. "Link..." The swordsman's eyes flickered open. He covered his gaze with his hand to shield himself from the blinding light of a fiery meteor that hung in the sky overhead. "Wake up, Link..." Link's head turned sideways, and he saw his fairy companion, Proxi, who was ushering him to consciousness. "This world needs you, Link!"

Trembling, bleeding, panting, Link clutched his Master Sword tightly and thrust it into the roof below him. Using the magnificent blade as a crutch, Link stumbled to his feet. Through shaky breaths, he gripped his injury with his free hand to slow the bleeding. Then, dragging the Master Sword along the ground behind him, he limped toward the edge of the hotel's roof. Flames engulfed most of the roof around him. The air was dry. His breaths offered no reprieve. His sweat clung to his blood-stained garments.

Staring at the meteor overhead, Link reached the edge of the roof and held his sacred blade skyward. Light surged through his sword as divine energy poured into the blade from the heavens. Link's hands trembled, and just holding the blade overhead took every ounce of strength he could muster. In fact, it took more. After a few seconds, the hero's strength wavered, and he nearly lowered his weapon.

In that moment, however, someone else gripped his sword. Link turned to his right to see his comrade, Linkle. Injured, exhausted, and burned, the heroine was in no better shape than he, but there she stood. Link's Triforce of Courage glowed in resonance with his alternate-reality counterpart, and the two heroes held the Master Sword valiantly skyward.

As divine radiance surged through the blade, something came flying up from the ruined streets below. Link saw the unwelcome sight of Saturn, the new reincarnation of Demise. The demonic hedgehog was clutching Demise's sword in hand, but he was being forced through the air by the combined strength of Sonic and Luigi, both of whom were riding atop golden stars. Steadying themselves, Link and Linkle pulled back the Master Sword as the heroes approached. With a valorous, "T'yah!" the Links thrust their blade forward.

In the next moment, the Master Sword was driven through the back of the original Saturn. Sonic and Luigi had landed on the rooftop on either side of the Links. "My empire..." Saturn murmured in horror as he stared down at the sword protruding outward from his chest. "My... birthright..."

In another moment, the calamity's dark sword vanished in a flash of light, and the demonic hedgehog himself slowly faded from view. The remnants of his power were pulled into the glowing blade of the Master Sword.


	42. End of the End

Sonic and Luigi stood with their friends in the plaza outside the damaged New Donk City Hall. The mayor of the city, Pauline, thanked each of them in turn. "I don't know what we would've done if you hadn't been here," she told Nimue after shaking the pink hedgehog's hand before proceeding to thank Espio. Firefighting efforts throughout the city had been more than successful with the help of Blaze and Silver, and city-wide casualties were miraculously minimal. With the original Saturn's defeat, whatever power had tied Infinite Saturn, Shadurn, and Silver Madness to this world had vanished, and the three had faded back into their own dimensions. 

At Dr. Eggman's behest, Metal Sonic had recovered Orbot's and Cubot's remains from the wreckage of the hotel. The mad doctor had just gotten his henchmen working again before the New Donk City Police placed him under arrest. Dr. Eggman, Orbot, and Cubot now stood in handcuffs in a line next to Metal Sonic while Shadow watched them closely to prevent any funny business. 

After receiving his thanks from the mayor and having his injuries healed by a Super Mushroom, Link used the Fire Rod to restore Ice Mario to his rightful state. The malice corrupting the city had vanished. All the monsters, including Dark Hydra, had faded into mist, and Ice Mario became a motionless statue once more. But not for long. With the Fire Rod's power, Mario was cured of his frozen state, and he and Luigi hugged one another as they shared a touching reunion. 

Professor E. Gadd was tinkering with the Pixelator on a bipod nearby. The gadget was still hooked up to the Power Moon-filled Poltergust 3000, which acted as a makeshift battery. Once he felt it could be working, he fired the machine at Charizard, who had been chasing around a nearby Shy Guy before being tackled to the ground by Sir Gawain. Once the beam from the Pixelator struck, Charizard was turned into multicolored blocks and sent home to his own dimension. "Eureka!" the professor exclaimed triumphantly. "It works!" 

"I guess we can all go home then," Blaze added before turning to Silver. "It was... really good to see you again," she admitted. "We'll have to find a way to stay in touch." 

"Hey, I'm from the future," Silver assured her with a smile. "You'd be surprised what technology can do there." 

"It was an honor to fight by your side again, Sir Sonic," Gawain told the blue speedster before offering him a fist bump. 

"Back atcha!" Sonic said with a smile. 

"Sir Metal," Nimue offered before giving a polite curtsy to her new, robotic friend. Metal Sonic reciprocated the bow. 

"Come now," Dr. Eggman said to Shadow nearby. "Are these cuffs really necessary?" 

"That's for G.U.N. to decide," Shadow bit back. 

Meanwhile, Joker and Linkle were sitting together on the edge of the fountain. The two had been discussing their adventures in their own worlds. When they heard the professor announce the Pixelator's success, the pair approached the rest of the group. "This place is pretty crazy," Joker admitted, "but it seems like things are under control now." 

"You were a big help," Sonic told the masked teen before bumping fists with him. "Stay cool when you go back to your own world." 

"Always," Joker assured him before giving E. Gadd a thumbs-up, and the mad scientist pixelated him to send the stylish teen home to his own dimension. 

Linkle turned to Link, Sonic, and then Luigi. "We're glad that other worlds have heroes like you," Linkle's fairy told them, "but our own world still needs us." 

"Yeah, we've got to get to Hyrule Castle!" Linkle agreed with a smile. 

"Take care!" Proxi told the pair on Link's behalf. Link nodded in unspoken agreement. 

"Stay green!" Luigi added as he waved back at her from afar. 

With that, Linkle smiled at the professor, who returned her and her fairy to their own dimension as well. 

"I should get going too," Blaze added. "I'm sure Metal Blaze is trying to get Eggman Nega back from the Chaotic Inferno Zone." 

"I'm-a sure you can handle it," Mario assured her. "You're-a one tough cookie!" 

"That's for sure," Silver added with a chuckle. "Give 'em hell, Blaze." 

"You know it," Blaze said with a wink. "Alright, doc, fire it up!" 

"Sure thing!" Professor E. Gadd replied before pixelating the pyrokinetic cat and returning her to her rightful world. 

"We'll go next," Proxi offered as Link nodded in agreement. "Ghirahim may be gone, but I'm sure everyone in Hyrule is worried about us since we vanished while fighting him." 

"We couldn't have done it without ya!" Sonic told the green-clad hero, who smiled in reply. 

"Literally!" Luigi agreed. Then, after waving goodbye to them, Link was pixelated by E. Gadd and returned to the land of Hyrule alongside his fairy. 

"Are you sure you will not return with us to Camelot?" Nimue asked Sonic as she approached. She had returned Excalibur to its sheath following the fight, and she held the sheathed blade forward to offer it to Sonic. "The sacred sword may have come free from its sheath for me, but it still refuses to speak. Sir Lancelot is running amok, and the people would be overjoyed by the return of their king." 

"They already have a king," Sonic told her as he pushed the sword back to her. 

Sir Gawain in turn bowed before Nimue. "Your Ladyship," he offered before correcting himself: "No, I mean, Your Highness." 

"Go kick Lancelot's butt," Sonic told them. 

Nimue smiled back at the blue hedgehog before turning to E. Gadd and nodding. "Verily," she said as the professor activated the Pixelator. Nimue, Gawain, and Excalibur were then returned to Camelot. 

"I guess I'll go next," Silver said. "Hey, can this thing really send me back to my own time too?" 

"Sure can!" E. Gadd assured him. "I can even send you to the moment you were pulled backwards in time, so it'll be like you weren't gone at all!" 

"Sounds good," Silver said with a smile, "the future is pretty awesome, so I don't wanna miss a thing." 

"Take care out there," Shadow told the futuristic hedgehog. 

"Hey, Shadow," Silver called back, "thanks again for the help back there." Silver recalled how, following the defeat of Saturn, Shadow had appeared at his side. Then, working together, Shadow and Super Silver had used a combined Chaos Control to warp the meteor harmlessly back into space. 

"Don't mention it," Shadow said back. 

"If you say so," Silver chuckled. Then, the silver hedgehog was pixelated back to his own time in Sonic's dimension.

E. Gadd adjusted the machine again before preparing to send Sonic and the others back to their own dimension in their time. "Are you ready?" the kooky professor asked. 

Sonic turned the Mario Bros. and bumped each of their fists in turn. "Thanks for-a taking care of my brother," Mario told the blue hedgehog. 

"Don't mention it," Sonic replied. "If anything, he was watching my back." 

"I still can't believe we won!" Luigi marveled. 

"Sayonara," Espio told the pair. 

"Try to stay in shape for the next Olympics," Shadow told them. 

"Mario, before I go," Dr. Eggman said as he looked to the red plumber, "next time you see Bowser, could you tell him I said, 'I'm sorry'?" 

Mario scratched his mustache before smiling. "I'll-a pass it along," he assured the scientist. Dr. Eggman smiled despite his restraints, and the group was transported back to their own world. 

"Well," Luigi said with a sigh, "that's everyone."

"Oh! I forgot to ask Dr. Heckman if he was cosplaying me!" Mario realized. 

“I definitely think he was,” Luigi affirmed with a confident nod. “That red jumpsuit said it all. Well, what do you want to do _now_ , Mario?" Luigi asked. "That was a long night. I feel like I could sleep for days." 

"What do you mean, Luigi?" Mario replied. "Our vacation just started!" 

"What! We can't vacation here, Mario!" Luigi protested. "The city's in pieces!" 

"Hmm, what about Isle Delfino?" Mario suggested. 

"Can't we just-a go home?" Luigi complained. 

"No way! If at first you don't succeed, try, try again!" Mario exclaimed. "Professor, can you send us to Isle Delfino?" 

"I sure can!" Professor E. Gadd said. "Isle Delfino! Coming right up!" 

The Mario Bros. waved goodbye to Pauline and the professor before they too were pixelated. The brothers were sent to the sunny beaches of Isle Delfino, where they would spend the rest of their vacation sunbathing and bowling in peace. 

Sonic, meanwhile, reunited with his friends in Emerald Town. Shadow turned Dr. Eggman and his robots over to G.U.N. for a handsome reward while Espio took the Chaos Emeralds to the Chaotix Detective Agency, who worked diligently to return them to their rightful homes. A few days later, Sonic went with Tails to visit Amy in Central City Hospital, where he regaled his injured friend with his most recent adventure: how he, an unsuspecting little brother, and their friends had saved another world from the Master of Chaos. 


	43. Dimwitch Den

Come ye, timid. 

Come ye, bold. 

Come ye, children, 

And come ye, old. 

Hear my story, 

O boys and men, 

That long-lost tale 

Of Dimwitch Den. 

Shadows many

And Sirens three 

Bade all to hail 

Their Darkest Queen. 

Though not of flesh 

But paper form, 

Brought Darkest Queen 

A world forlorn. 

When slain and sealed 

Was Darkest Queen, 

Her powers lingered, 

Her magics gleaned. 

To call this magic 

From paper glens 

Did build the witches 

This dimmest den. 

Their powers stretched, 

Their shadows long, 

Did cry the witches 

Most eerie songs. 

Those fiendish witches 

Of shroom and bean, 

Of shell and mask 

And bone and dream, 

They hexed and cursed. 

They stole and slew 

‘Til came one day 

These brothers two. 

Of brothers’ fight 

The legends tell, 

And with great fright 

The witches fell. 

In final plea, 

The witches gave 

Unto the bros 

A pair of staves. 

These magic rods 

Great power held 

Of flame and frost. 

The bros beheld 

The scepters two, 

Meant clear as bribes. 

“Leave us be, 

And ye shall thrive!” 

The older bro, 

His heart was pure. 

He cried, “Get lost!” 

Took not the lure. 

But younger bro, 

Not quite as nice, 

He gazed and gawked, 

At rod of ice. 

Despite his bro, 

He took the staff. 

His brother shrieked. 

The witches laughed. 

Their bargain sealed, 

The witches’ glee, 

It knew no bounds, 

And so decreed: 

“Our pact is done! 

Thou canst not harm, 

Long as we live, 

With leg or arm!” 

The younger bro, 

His heart as ice, 

Saw brother’s doom 

By his own vice. 

His sorrow burned; 

His heart it thawed. 

And then reached he 

For flaming rod. 

Despite the price, 

His bargain kept, 

He claimed the rod, 

And lo he wept: 

“Long as thou live, 

I cannot harm, 

But as thou die, 

Thou be now warned. 

With thine own rod, 

Thy tempting taint, 

I give to thee 

This last restraint. 

With mine own soul, 

I burn my words 

And bind thy souls, 

Thou wretched nerds!” 

And so was burned 

The younger bro, 

And burned with him, 

His last echo. 

Thence on were cursed 

By words of men 

Those dimwit souls 

To Dimwitch Den. 

Though ages passed, 

The curse remained, 

And any witch 

For power gained 

From Dimwitch Den 

Must pay a price: 

Her dimwit soul 

In afterlife. 

So too was bound 

A cackling bean: 

Her failéd plots, 

Her dashéd dreams. 

She waited there, 

Her soul apart, 

For bravest soul 

With hero’s heart. 

Then came a soul 

To Dimwitch Den, 

Clad all in green, 

Hero of men. 

He sought the rod, 

Still clad in flame, 

To help a friend. 

True was his aim, 

So to the man 

Gave cackling witch 

A test of heart, 

A test of wits. 

He proved himself, 

Not by the sword, 

But by his love, 

And smiled the ward. 

Scepter in hand, 

The hero left.

To what he’d done, 

The man was deft. 

By heart of hero, 

Our curse was placed. 

By hero’s heart, 

Our curse doth break. 


End file.
